Still Untitled: A Story Of Edd
by JynxedOne
Summary: After a long summer away Edd begins reconnecting with Old friends. And Enemies? Will this cause a rift between him and his best friends? Awful summary and name. Please don't let that deter you from checking it out! Mostly a Edd and Marie story.
1. Homecoming

"Eddward, do you have everything"?

"Yes mother, I believe so" the boy in the black beanie replied, grabbing several suitcases. Eddward, Edd, or Double D as he was known, had spent the summer traveling with his parents. They both worked jobs that required constant and abrupt travel so he was often home alone. So to make up for it this year his parents had him go on their travels with them. Over the course of just the few weeks of summer vacation he had traveled everywhere from London to Egypt all the way to Venezuela. It was the time of his young life.

School would be starting soon and his parents wanted to make sure he was home in time to gather everything he'd need and adjust back to a normal schedule. Unfortunately, they would be heading out again the next morning. Edd didn't mind though. He got to spend the entire summer with them so he was happy. Besides. He would have all his friends back home to keep him company.

Admittedly he had been bad about keeping in touch with everyone while away. Not having much time to return many texts or phone calls. He knew one of his best friends, Eddy would let him have it for that. He could already hear his voice screaming in his ear. Which made him chuckle. Which caught his father's attention.

"What's so funny son?" he asked with a smile.

"Nothing father. Just looking forward to getting back home is all". The airport they landed in was about a two hours drive from Peach Creak. It was 5:30 AM so it seemed like a good idea to try and get a little bit of sleep in. There was a lot to do when he got home.

The sun's light hitting his sleeping face awoke Edd. Opening his weary eyes the place he called home slowly came into focus. As much as he'd enjoyed traveling being home felt good. He eagerly awaited getting back to his normal life.

Edd stepped out of the car and embraced being back home. The clean crisp air was a welcome change to some of the places he'd been over the summer. It was quiet, calm, and peaceful.

Looking around he saw some of the kids of the cul-de-sac already out enjoying one of their last days of summer. Jimmy and Sara were out having a tea party. Kevin was working on his new car his parents helped him buy, which he affectionately called Serenity. Nazz was soaking up some sun trying to get a tan. He didn't see his two best friends around, although that came to no surprise.

"Head in a sock Edd boy", Edd looked over to see his foreign friend Rolf walking towards him, "Welcome home!", he exclaimed while giving Edd a rather painful hug.

"It's good to be back Rolf", he managed to squeeze out. Once Rolf released Edd he held out a small cactus, "Jim! Thank you again for taking care of him while I was away Rolf. I'd have asked Ed or Eddy but they surly would have forgotten or lost interest in it". Edd looked up from Jim to see his friend holding his suitcases.

"Come, and tell Rolf of your travels!", Edd could only smile and follow Rolf into his home.

Two hours spent catching up with his old friend, telling him of his travels flew by in the blink of an eye. Before he knew it he was finishing up shopping for supplies for the school year.

"Let's see. No. 2 pencils, ballpoint pens, highlighters check. Composition notebooks, binders, and dividers, check. Folders and index cards, check. I do believe that's everything.", he said ecstatic about the school year. He would be entering his junior year of high school. He had always been a model student and would not let this year be any different.

On his way back home Edd passed by the local library. With all the plane travel he'd been doing this summer he had actually finished most of his books. So he decided to stop in a grab a few to hold him over.

The library was a relatively new building, only being built two years ago. It was nice having a big library in town. Before it was built the only way Edd could get books was driving 20 minutes to another library. He hated driving, so needless to say this new one was a godsend for him.

He walked in and felt the cool breeze from the air conditioner hit his sweat filled face.

"Hello Eddward. Haven't seen you around all summer. I was beginning to worry." Mrs. Clair, the librarian was a young Women who ran the library. She knew Edd very well due to the insane amount of books he always took out.

"Good morning Donna", she insisted to be called by her first name at all times, "I was traveling with my parents over the summer. Sorry to worry you".

"Well, there's a lot of new books waiting for you" she smiled and walked back to her office. Edd knew just what kind of books he wanted to check on. He wanted to try his hand at a garden so he needed some guidelines and information on plants and proper care for them.

With a handful of books he was ready to make his way out when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Double D?", said with a sultry high pitch voice. Edd turned to see none other then the blue haired girl who, along with her two sisters, tormented him and his best friends during their younger years.

"Oh, Marie. Good morning. How are you on this fine day?" Edd and Marie's relationship had become much better after Lee and May moved away with their fathers. She became a lot more "tamed", so to speak. Since then Edd has had no issues with her forcing her misguided love on him and was now able to speak to her without all the fear of being attacked, kissed, etc...

"I'm doing well thanks. Want me to check you out"?

"You work here Marie? I'll have to admit I'm surprised. I never knew you enjoyed books so much".

"Well maybe you should have asked Sweetie." she said using a seductive voice and wink, sending a slight chill down Edd's back. Marie knew she could still get a fun reaction out of Edd if she wanted to. So every now and again, she would. Much to his dismay.

"The complete encyclopedia of plants and trees? " she looked up, obviously holding back a laugh.

"If you must know, I'm looking to start a garden soon and want to be prepared". The serious tone Edd used made it all the funnier to Marie. Which, of course, he did not find as amusing as she did.

"Here Double D.", Marie grabbed a book out of her bag and handed it to him, "It's a book I just finished. I think you'll like it.", Ready Player One. Edd had never heard of it. "I know it's not the kind of thing you usually read, but I know you'll like it." He couldn't help but smile at the gesture and placed the book in one of the bags he had his school supplies in.

"Thank you very much Marie, I'll be sure to read it and get it back to you soon. He said with a grin that made a now blushing Marie smile.

"I'm in no hurry for it, so take your time. So, where have you been all summer? I don't think I've seen you once before today".

"I spent it traveling with my parents. They're always moving around for work so I got to tag along and spend some time with them" Edd explained.

"Oh! So that's why they leave sticky notes all over your house? Because they're never around to tell you things"? Edd looked puzzle at her, wondering how on earth she knew that. "Don't looked surprised. Remember how much me and my sisters used to get into your house?" Marie stuck her tongue out and laughed, remembering how she used break into Edd's house in their youth.

"Ah, yes. Not sure how I could forget a thing like that." he replied with a shy grin, "However, mother and father no longer leave sticky notes for me. Instead they just text me with things they would like me to get done for them." She could see a glint of worry in Edd's eyes "Don't worry. We never told anyone about that". Marie handed Edd the books he took out. "Here you are. One really big book on plants.

"Thank you Marie. I suppose I should be heading out. Ed and Eddy should be up around now".

"Oh god." Marie said with a loud laugh, "Is he still fuming over what happened?" Edd again looked puzzled at her. "You don't know? How did he not tell you? He was screaming about it so loud I heard it down at the trailer parks. He did so bad last year he has to repeat all his classes. He'll be with the 10th graders. I can't believe he didn't tell you." A blank stare came over Edd's face. "You okay double D"? He hadn't had his phone on for weeks. Eddy must have tried tirelessly to get a hold of him.

"Oh dear. I'm sorry Marie, but I have to go. Have a nice day!" he screamed as he bolted out of the library.

Edd ran straight for Eddy's house. Unfortunately when he got there his mother informed him he was to have no visitors. So after "ignoring" his best friend for weeks he couldn't even apologize until school started next week. With nothing else to do Edd decided to head home and begin his reading.

In his bedroom he was ready to begin the encyclopedia of plants and trees. When he pulled it out of his bag the book Marie had given him fell to the floor. He picked it up and looked it over. "Interesting premise." he thought as he placed it on his desk next to his other books.

_"Yes, I would love some Double D. This was a wonderful idea. A picnic by the stream. So quiet here. So private". Edd, grinning cheek to cheek reveled in the happiness he felt. "Come on oven mitt. Let's go for a walk!" she said as she pulled Edd up off of their blanket. Alright alright, I'm coming Mar.." *Crash* (can't think of a better way to write that)._

"What?" a confused Edd was now laying on his bedroom floor. Looking up to his desk he saw his book of plants and trees opened. He must have fallen asleep and fallen off his chair while reading. "Curse my rigid sleep schedule. I suppose this is why mother and father had me home early". Edd picked himself up and sat back at his desk, pondering his dream. Not wanting to over think a simple dream he continued to his book.

**AN: Hello, thanks for taking the time to read this! I used to love writing but have not really written anything in years. I'm hoping this will be a gateway back into it. I know I'm rusty and have many mistakes in this so any constructive criticism/tips would be very much appreciated. Also I'd like to thank Korvyn77 for helping me decided to start writing again and looking over what I had! Thanks again.**


	2. Chapter 2

Edd awoke the next morning a bit cranky. He was usually an early riser but today he, and a good part of the neighborhood, were awoken by Rolf's old and very loud tractor. Rolf was one of Edd's dearest friends and he knew he would never intentionally do something like this, so he couldn't possibly be mad. Although that didn't excuse the fact that it was 6:15 AM and he was awake. Not being able to get back to sleep Edd decided to just start off his day. After a quick shower and ironing his freshly washed cloths he headed down to make some breakfast. Where on the Kitchen table he found a note from his mother.

'Eddward, please make sure you pick up some groceries today. You're father and I won't be back for a couple of weeks. I'll be sure to call you as soon as I can. Love you!'

Edd had actually forgotten that his parents would be leaving today. With both of them gone, Eddy grounded for the foreseeable future, and Ed actually having a job that took up most of his free time down at the construction yard, Edd was pretty alone right now. Even Rolf, who he considered one of his best friends was gone for the day at some farmers market. Thinking about this while standing in his big house, alone, Edd felt a heavy pain. 'Bzzz Bzzz' Edd's pocket was vibrating. He had received a text from Kevin, of all people.

"Double D, I saw you're lights on. Guess Rolf woke you up too. I'm working on my car and need a few tools I don't have. Can you bring yours over and help me out for a bit?"

Kevin and Edd had never been best friends, but their shared interest in engineering had brought them closer then they'd been in the past. Whenever one was building or fixing something they would often end up doing it together. Although, Edd didn't specialize in cars and certainly didn't know more about how they worked then Kevin did. It didn't sound like he needed help as much as he needed tools though. The way he was feeling right now, Edd didn't care what it was, he just wanted to get out of the house. So he grabbed the tools Kevin listed and headed out.

It was refreshingly cool outside with the sun just starting to rise. A nice change from the blistering heat the day brought.

"Eddward!" turning to the adjacent house Edd saw his elderly neighbor Mr. Golden. "Hello Mr. Golden! What brings you out this early"?

"Same thing as you, Rolf''s Damned Tractor! Figured since I was up I'd start the house work". Edd noticed the sign and hammer in Mr. Golden's hands. He saw Edd eying it and let out a sigh as he started hammering it into the dirt. "This is a big house Eddward. With the kids gone the Mrs. and I just don't think it's worth it trying to keep up with all the work she needs. There's a bunch of smaller houses not that far from here. We could never leave Peach Creak." he said with a hardy laugh. Edd could only smile at his lively neighbor.

"Let me know if you need any help Mr. Golden. Have a nice day." Mr Golden smiled and waved and got back to his work while Edd continued to make his way to Kevin's.

Kevin was checking the air in his tires, as he did at every spare minute, for whatever reason. He saw Edd walking up his driveway with the tools he needed and his face lit up.

"Damn man, you're a life saver! I left my toolbox at Rolf's yesterday. Completely forgot he had that market thing today. Would have gone insane not being able to work on Serenity". Kevin took the toolbox and held out his fist, which Edd hit with his (something they started doing years ago). Kevin wasted no time and immediately got under his car and started turning, twisting, cutting, and pulling things. For a few minutes he was so utterly into what he was doing he had almost forgotten Edd was standing next to him. Edd on the other hand was just happy to have some company. Eventually Kevin came back up and started messing around under the hood of the car.

"Must have loved it right?" Edd looked over with a confused look.

"Loved what, Kevin"?

"Getting to spend the whole summer with your parents Dork." surprised, Edd could only smile and nod his head. "I can't pretend to know what it's like. Having your parents gone all the time. I'm lucky enough to have them both every day. Edd was completely taken back by the sincerity of Kevin's words. "Throw me that rag will ya? Haha, you did miss one hell of a show though. Did you hear about Eddy".

"About how he is being held back with the 10th graders this year? Yes, I'm afraid I did."

"You got to admit, it's pretty funny right? Even Ed managed to pass all of his classes, and he was holding his job at the construction yard all year too. That's what he gets though. Skipping all the time and never doing work. Good thing you stopped carrying him". Eventually Edd had gotten tired of doing all of Eddy's work for him. Which is when his decline in interest of school started.

"I suppose he does deserve being held back. So, do you plan on trying out for the football team this year? I remember you wanted to last year but never did".

"Yeah. Last year my parents wanted to make sure I could hold up good grades before I could be on any teams. What about you? You going to try out for the Soccer team"?

"Oh, of course not. I don't have the skills for such a thing". Kevin looked up with a blank stare at Edd.

"We both know that's a load of shit dude. The team could use you. They're not exactly good."

"I don't know what you think I could contribute to the team. Ether way, I have my studies to focus on, thank you".

"Whatever you say. Come help me a minute will ya".

Edd helped Kevin on his car well into the morning. Most of the kids were outside enjoying the sun and freedom of the last week of summer. He even saw Ed head out to work. He ran out of his house yelling "Late, late, late! No buttered toast for Ed!" Edd still hadn't gotten to say hi to Ed since he got back. He had picked him up some gifts he wanted to give him.

"Alright man. I think we're done." Kevin through Edd a towel to wash off his hands. "Thanks for bringing the tools over. Owe you one". Kevin's mother was yelling for him from his front door.

"Kevin! Breakfast is ready!" They really were a tight nit family. Edd grabbed his tools and headed back to his house.

It was only 9:30. Edd felt like he needed another shower and to actually make some breakfast this time. While making some toast he pondered what he was going to do for the next few hours before he went and picked up groceries. He remembered the book Marie lent him. He decided to grab it and read for a while to kill some time.

What he thought would be a nice way to kill an hour or so turned into him sitting in his study for 6 hours, reading the book cover to cover without even realizing it. Marie was right. It was certainly not the kind of book he would have ever picked up on his own, but it was definitely worth every minute he spent reading it. Realizing what time it was Edd decided it was a good time to go shopping. He debated on whether or not he should try stopping by the library to give Marie back her book. He wasn't sure when she worked, but he could leave it with Donna. He was sure she'd make sure Marie got it. So with that he grabbed the money his parents leave for groceries and headed out the to the store.

Much to Edd's dismay the local store was packed. Having to maneuver between people, overhearing their conversations, and worst of all getting their germs all over him. Not his ideal situation at all. Good news was the list of things to get wasn't horribly long, just the essentials.

"Watch it kid!" a rather large women screamed at Edd as she slammed into him.

"Terribly sorry ma'am." he said, trying his to sound sincere. The women made similar remarks to others as she bumped into them. Being in the store for a total of five minutes and he was ready to bash his head into a wall. He should be enjoying himself. With the insane heat outside and his own air conditioner being broken, the store was his refuge.

"Just have to get some bread, milk, and water. Then I'll have everything and can get out of this place". 'Crash'

"Watch it punk!" Great, someone else rams into him and he has to act like it was his fault.

"So sorry, don't know what I was doing". He was bending over picking up some of his groceries that had fallen out of his cart when he heard the person start laughing. Looking up he saw it was Marie.

"Relax Double D. Just messing with you." she helped Edd pick up the last of his groceries. He couldn't help but notice the perfume Marie was wearing. It smelled wonderful. "Sorry about that. Wasn't too focused, didn't mean to crash into you like that".

"It's no problem at all I assure you, Marie".

"I'm not used to being here so late in the afternoon. It's so crowded. And some fat lady tried starting stuff with me. Got right in her face and told her off. No manners in people nowadays." Edd simply nodded at what Marie was saying.

"I feel the same way. I had planned on coming here early this morning, hoping to avoid all the rush".

"Why didn't you"?

"I actually got caught up in reading the book you lent me". Marie's face lit up. Like she didn't expect Edd to actually take the time to start reading it.

"Do you like it so far? How much have you read"?

"I finished it. It was a very well written book".

"You finished it! Jeez Double D. I honestly didn't expect you to even read it, let alone finish it in a day". The two talked about the book until they had both cashed out and were outside the store.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Edd pulled out Marie's Book and handed it back to her. "Thank you so much for lending it to me. Any other books you could recommend I'd be more then happy to read".

"I'll keep that in mind". Edd waved and began walking towards him house when Marie called out. "Hey Double D. Would you mind coming by the library sometime and hanging out? Not a lot of interesting people come by. I get pretty bored and it would be nice to actually have someone to talk to for once".

"I'd love to Marie. Not sure how great of company I can be though".

"Oh please. You're wonderful company. You can tell me all about your summer. And I can give you books that aren't about plants".

Marie headed back to her trailer and Edd back to his house with a smile. He was happy he ran into Marie. Although their conversation was short, it was nice to have someone to talk to. He grabbed his phone form his pocket to check the time. He had one missed call and a text from his mother.

"Sorry I missed you Eddward. I'll call back later tonight. Love you".

Edd was surprised he didn't notice his phone going off. Didn't realize how into his conversation with Marie he must have been. The day started off awful, but ended up being rather enjoyable. Between the time he spent working with Kevin and talking with Marie. Now he could go home and whip up something for Dinner. And maybe fix the air conditioner.


	3. Chapter 3

8:30 AM. Edd had slept straight through the night. It was the first time since he returned home that he had slept well. Of course, it only took two days to adjust back so he couldn't really complain. He opened his window, relishing in the breeze of the beautiful day.

It seemed with each passing day the kids of the neighborhood made an effort to get outside earlier and earlier. You'd think with school staring in less than a week they would all be sleeping well into the afternoon and be up all night. Edd was ecstatic about getting back to school. More then anything he looked forward to being with his best friends again. Already his third day home and he is yet to speak to either Ed or Eddy. The ladder may be a good thing however, considering his situation.

Since returning home Edd had realized in the absence of his best friends, he still had great friends he could rely on. Like Rolf and Kevin, and even Marie. It was a good feeling. Considering during his youth the only friends he had were Ed and Eddy. It made him happy when he thought about how far he'd come.

Edd was in an unusually good mood this morning (considering how he was typically a grouchy person in the morning). This was because he was awoken by a phone call by his mother. Due to the nature of their jobs his parents couldn't call as often as they would like to. Most of the time it was just texts. He and his mother had a chance to talk for about 20 minutes before she had to go. His father was sleeping but he managed to get on the phone and tell his son he loved him. Edd's mother liked to pry into every nook and cranny of his life when she got the chance. She asked how Ed and Eddy were, happy hearing Ed was still employed, and not exactly shocked at the news about Eddy. She knew Edd had "helped" him with his work throughout their years of school. They talked about how he was researching to make a garden, an idea his mother loved. He even brought up how he had spent time working on Kevin's car with him and talking to Marie about books. The last bit is what really caught his mother's attention. Edd assured her there was absolutely nothing going on between them and they were just friends. His mother always thought he and Marie were cute. Seeing her chance him around all the time when they were younger. Speaking of which. Edd realized he again had no books to read since finishing the one Marie lent him. She mentioned yesterday she was working today, so he could go down to get a book, as well as visit Marie and enjoy the cool air.

Edd walked along the sidewalk leading to the front doors. Rounding the corner, he noticed an overturned trashcan rustling around. Cautiously, he observed and soon after stopping to look, Victor the goat rolled out, covered in various articles of waste. A wave of disgust washed over him as he set forth to the library entrance. Which is where he saw Rolf, as well as Marie, who was repeatedly smashing her head into a table.

"What is this dribble? Rolf does not understand!" he heard his friend yelling from across the library. He went up to the front counter to ask Marie what was going on.

"He won't leave Double D! I've screamed and screamed but he just won't leave!" she said sobbing. She explained that he had been there for 20 minutes trying to find some book on goats that

Marie explicitly told him they didn't have. Knowing how stubborn Rolf was, and how easily Marie got irritated, Edd decided to go and help Rolf find a book of similar taste to what he was looking for.

The sight of Rolf leaving brought a huge smile to Marie's face. She grabbed Edd's hand and repeatedly thanked him. Has she being a little mellow dramatic? Probably. But Edd wasn't about to stop her. He thought the whole situation was hilarious. However, now that the situation was resolved, he could finally find his own books.

"I don't understand how you can handle that guy Double D. I'm ready to just lay down and die after that". Edd smiled and handed the book he wanted to Marie. Who instantly dropped it. "Feed? Double D! This is the worst book I have ever read. I will not let you waste your time with it." She pulled out her bag and reached around for a second. Some make up, a button that said "Believe in the Shield" and a wrestling magazine poured out. "There it is. Here. This is a much better book." Green Angle by Alice Hoffman, he read. "Just trust me on this one. Feed is a god awful book." she said as she struggled to put everything back into her bag while still keeping eye contact with Edd. "I just finished it last night. It was an early birthday gift from my mom". Edd looked up from reading the synopses of the book. Was her birthday soon? She's been so nice about lending out books to Edd lately. Would it be expected of him to get her something? "It's tomorrow in case you were wondering. And yes, you have to get me something." she said with an evil grin. "Now go home and read that!" she barked., "I have something else for you after that too, so read it quick". Edd scurried out of the library both out of fear of Marie, and interest in the book. And what about her birthday? What on earth would he get her? What could he get her? He could use express delivery on amazon and get anything by tomorrow. But what would she like? The Wrestling magazine, and the pin. Maybe that will give him some sort of an idea. Whatever he was going to get, he had to do it soon.

6 AM and Edd was awoken by the sound of knocking at his door. Though, he was actually relieved about it. Last night he was up on amazon for hours trying to find Marie a decent Birthday gift. He finally managed to find something he thought she would like, and even snagged the last one in stock. He had it shipped overnight (which wasn't cheep. So Marie better love it). He had to go and sign for it, but since that was out of the way he could get back to sleep not worrying about anything except actually going to the library later and giving it to her.

Edd was actually fairly busy today. A lot of chores that needed to be done around the house as well as helping Mr Golden make his house a little more presentable for some people coming by to look at it today. After all was said and done it was around noon and he figured it was a good time to go and give Marie the gift he bought her. He had wrapped it in some black skull paper he picked up. He debated whether or not to get her a card as well, but decided against it.

Thankfully today was one of the cooler days at Peach Creek only being 75 out, a welcome change from the high 80s-90s they've had ever since he returned. The cool breeze of the library's air conditioner was still a very soothing sensation.

"Hello Eddward. Finish your books already?" Donna was behind the front desk where Marie usually was.

"Good afternoon Donna. May I ask where Marie is"?

"Oh sweetie, she asked for the day off. It's her birthday today. But judging from the present in your bag you already knew that." A now blushing Edd thanked Donna and quickly exited the library. He had considered asking Donna to give Marie the gift tomorrow, but it was her birthday and Edd wanted to make sure she got it today. So it looked like he was going to have to go down to the trailer park and give it to her himself. Which he had no problem with. Or, he wouldn't if the trailer park hadn't become a much more shady area then it used to be. It was a ways away from the Cul-de-sac so he's never had to deal with it. The worst stuff usually happens at night so he should be fine. Hopefully.

It was rather difficult remembering the area where Marie's trailer was located, but after a little searching he found her beaten and battered mailbox. Hearing the screaming from all the neighbors, large barking dogs, and what he hoped were fireworks, made him all the quicker to get to her door.

'Knock knock knockknock knock, Ding Dong'

Every second he waited it seemed like the terrifying noises around him were getting closer. He heard distant footsteps coming from the trailer. The door swung open, and a not to pleased Marie stood in front of him. She was looking in the direction of what he guessed was a TV. Sounded like she was watching wrestling.

"What do you want?" she barked, still not knowing who exactly she was talking to.

"Um... hello Marie". She turned her head seemingly shocked at hearing Edd's voice. He pulled out his gift. "Happy birthday".

"Double D! I was totally joking about getting me a gift! Why would you do that"?

"Well, if you don't want it" he said as he began to put the present back into his bag.

"No no no I want it!" Marie snatched it from his hands. "Well come in." she said with a giggle. Marie's Trailer was a lot cleaner on the inside then it was on the outside. "Would you like something to drink?" pointing to her refrigerator. Edd merely shook his head.

"Where's your mother Marie"?

"She got a huge promotion at her job. Makes a lot of money now, so of course she's out looking for things to buy". Marie was headed down a hallway where the source of whatever she was watching was coming from. "Sorry about the mess. I'm not as clean as my mom". Indeed she was not. Marie's room was very cluttered, things in every corner. She stood in the middle of it completely engulfed by the wrestling match on her television, which made Edd all the more proud of his gift. "Yeahhh!" Marie shrieked as the match ended. Afterwords she looked at Edd, clearly embarrassed. "I'm so sorry. I've always been a little to into wrestling". She jumped on her bed and motioned for Edd to join her. She shook the package as if she had no idea what it was. She excitedly ripped the paper off, and her face lit up like Edd had never seen before. She screamed and wrapped her arms around Edd. "How did you know to get me this shirt Double D"? Edd had managed to get a T-shirt of wrestling Faction The Shield for her.

"At the library. When your bag spilled I saw the wrestling magazine and the pin. I did a little research and found this. I'm sorry about the size. It was the last one and they only had mediums left".

"That's fine, I'm going to go put it on. Hang on here for a second". Marie dashed quickly into another room. Edd, alone in her room took a look around. He had never been in a girl's room before, much less a girl like Marie. All around the room he saw stacks of Comics and books. On her bed she had a Nintendo 3DS with boxes for Pokemon and Fire Emblem next to it, a card game called Boss Monster, posters for Jurassic Park and some bands named War of Ages and The Gazette. DVDs stacked surprisingly neat of Boy meets world, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, third Rock from the Sun and a whole lot of Anime. He even saw a Camera next to a sketch pad. It amazed him how different their interests were, yet they could now get along so well.

Marie excitedly returned to the room now wearing her new shirt. She did a little twirl.

"I love it. Thank you so much Double D. You have no idea what this means to me".

"I'm just glad you like it. I had no idea what you would like". Marie jumped back onto her bed next to Double D.

"You know you didn't need to do this. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did. But you really didn't have to."

"It's the least I could do after you've been so nice about loaning me your books". Edd realized now that Marie had applied some make up while she was gone. "So. Could you explain to me why they're called the Shield"? Marie practically jumped on him when he said that.

"They're the Shield from injustice! They...I can't explain it to someone who doesn't watch. She turned to her laptop, which was actually hooked up to her TV, and opened a few videos. "You're going to sit here with me and watch some matches. I know it's really not your thing, but trust me, you'll love it". Her television screen had a picture of three men in swat like gear. Speaking truthfully it did seem rather interesting to him. So he decided to stay and watch with her. After all, it was her birthday. You can't tell someone no on their birthday.

One hour turned into two and then three. Two bowls of popcorn and a dozen or so wrestling matches later she closed her computer.

"So, what ya think? Cool Huh"? What could he say, he actually really enjoyed watching with her. There was something so captivating about it.

"I must say Marie, I enjoyed watching with you".

"I knew you would. See how well I know you." She winked making Edd blush a bit. "As fun as it's been having you over, it is getting dark soon. You shouldn't be here at night. Never know what crazy people are out. You going to walk home"?

"I text Kevin a little while ago asking if he could swing by and get me. I helped him out with his car the other day so he owes me one". 'Honk Honk' "Speak of the devil. Well I guess I'll be going Marie. Thank you for a wonderful evening and for spending your Birthday with me".

"No problem Oven mitt, come by anytime".She gave Edd one last hug and thanked him again for her shirt before he left. As he walked down to Kevin's car he turned back and waved one last time before getting in.

"Never thought I'd see you coming out of Marie Kanker's place. What were you guys doing?" Kevin asked with clear intentions of what he really meant.

"Just, two friends spending the day together Kevin. Nothing else".

Once Kevin dropped Edd off home he saw Mr Golden saying goodbye to some people.

"Mr. Golden, how'd the house do"?

"I think we got some real interest in the old girl. Can't imagine it'll be long before she's sold". As much as Edd would miss them, he loved the thought of new neighbors. Someone new to the neighborhood.

**AN: Thank you to everybody who has taken the time to read, review, follow or favorite my story. It means the world! This chapter was written in a day, I'm sure I missed some stuff so please don't mind the little errors. Is it bad to put up two chapters in a span of 3 days? Hope not. Anyways, hope you enjoy :)**


	4. Chapter 4

For the past three days, Edd had been dealing with illness. He had somehow contracted a nasty flu and could barely find the strength to get out of bed. Having now regained most of his strength he could finally get up and enjoy the remaining two days of his summer vacation. He had ordered some model kits while bedridden that should have arrived today. After getting dressed, he descended the stairs to check the mail, finding that his kits had indeed arrived. A smiling Edd read the labels of the packages and quickly sorted through the rest of the mail, which were mostly things addressed to his parents. Edd's smile only grew larger however, as he saw Ed charging towards him, screaming of his joy.

"Double D, You're back! Oh how I've missed you!" Ed was inadvertently squeezing the life from him with his freakish strength.

"I've been home for days Ed. Sorry I haven't been able to reach you". Ed was not even pretending to pay attention to what Edd was saying, instead, he was running frantically in a circle laughing. Seeing the genuine joy his friend had for seeing him brought a great feeling to Edd. "Oh! Ed, I almost forgot, I got you a gift over the summer. Hold on one moment please". Edd went and grabbed a bag from his bedroom and quickly returned to a bouncing Ed who was repeating 'Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy presents'. "I found this at a market in Europe. Can't remember exactly where. Not sure if you're familiar with this particular series, but it looked like something you'd enjoy". Ed, not wasting any time, ripped through the bag, and upon seeing its contents he completely freaked out. Edd had gotten his friend very rare copies of a discontinued television show called "Porcelain Guardian and the Toilet Titans" (so old and rare they were actually still on VHS) and with a name as completely absurd as that one, he knew his friend would love it. Jumping with joy Ed again hugged, and crushed, his friend.

"Thank you Double D! Now I have my best buddy and the Toilet Titans! You can come over and I'll have someone to spend time with again!".

"What about Eddy? Didn't you spend any time with him over the summer Ed?". Ed's smile faded and turned into an angry frown.

"No. Eddy is naughty and not good for Ed". Edd wasn't sure what to make of Ed's reaction to Eddy. Should he ask? No, it would probably be better not to. They'd all see each other in a few days at school anyways. Not wanting the situation to deteriorate any more, he said goodbye to Ed and told him once he had a day off of work they could watch the show together. This of course made Ed very happy again. Fondling his gift, Ed rushed off to work while excitedly reading the descriptions of the show. Edd watched his friend off and in turn noticed something in Eddy's room window. He squinted to get a better look and it was Eddy, not looking to pleased at Edd. He shyly waved to his friend, who in turn closed his blinds.

"Oh dear.", Edd was growing more and more worried about the situation with Eddy. Not wanting to dwell on it, he decided to just forget about it for now and head inside.

As Edd was walking up the paved path to his front door, Edd heard his name called. Upon looking to see who it was, he was delighted to see it was Mr. Golden.

"Eddward, good morning!" said a particularly perky Mr. Golden who was heading out his front door waving to Edd.

"Oh, good morning Mr. Golden. How is the house sale going?", said Edd.

"Over. Just got off the phone with the buyer. The family is insisting on moving in before the new school year starts. So the Mrs. and I are packing up and heading out!", replied an ecstatic Mr. Golden. Edd was glad they were able to sell the house but above all, bummed out that Mr. Golden would be leaving. He always enjoyed the talks they had. When Edd was younger and his parents had to travel for work, Mr and Mrs. Golden would watch him along with a large number of the other neighborhood kids. They were great neighbors and he would really miss them. "Don't worry Eddward. We'll be around if you ever need to talk about anything". Mr. Golden grabbed the for sale sign and took it inside. Although faced with loosing his long time neighbors, Edd was still excited about meeting the new family that would, apparently, be moving in within the next two days. They wanted to be moved in by the time school starts, so it's safe to assume they have a child. Edd wondered if he or she would be his age.

_An hour later_

Getting to a later start then he was used to Edd, quickly ate some cereal before looking over what chores he had given himself to do today. Wash and iron cloths, rake the backyard, and wash the dishes. Edd absolutely dreaded washing dishes. There weren't many due to him being the only one home, but he couldn't stand his fingers getting pruney. He wanted to get that one over and done with quick, so that's where he started. Just as he began to wash the last dish, '_Crash'_! The glass shattered and sliced his hand up pretty bad. Thankfully, due to all the time he spent dealing with the crazy, and a lot of times dangerous, scams he took a part in years ago, he was used to fixing up cuts, bruises, and things of that nature. He went to his room and in his dresser drawer labeled "Medical Supplies" he grabbed what he needed to clean, disinfect, and wrap the cut. "Not a great start the day, Edd".

Back in his kitchen he carefully cleaned the sink of all glass and disposed of it. However his bad luck continued as he slipped on a wet patch on the floor. He fell onto his kitchen table, unscathed, but in the process, he spilled over the remainder of his milk onto the floor. Which meant he now had to run out and buy some more. "Perfect", said an irritated Edd.

Today Edd had planned on sitting in his room building his models. Instead, he slices his hand open and has to waste time running out to the store in this heat just to pick up some milk. Needless to say, he was not in a fantastic mood. The store being completely packed didn't help him improve any either. Careless people bumping into him, getting their filth all over him. At this point he was ready to just go home and sleep until school started. Thankfully the lines were short and he was out fairly quick. Edd stopped walking when he felt his phone vibrate. It was a text from his father.

_Hello son, sorry we haven't reached you in a few days. Just wanted to let you know we're going to be here a few days longer then we thought. This place is in worse shape then we originally thought. We'll be sure to call you and see how school goes. Love you!_

Edd thought his mood couldn't get any worse. He knew his parents job required a lot of their time, and he knew they loved him and wanted to be home more, but being home alone all the time was starting to take a toll on him. Edd was so upset over the news he hadn't even realized that he had been standing on the sidewalk staring at his phone so long that people started gathering and staring at him. One person who wanted to see what the commotion was about was Marie, who happened to be going back to the trailer park. She immediately noticed Edd's expression and went over to him.

"Okay you freaks, get away. Shoe shoe, before I get mad.", said Marie while ushering the onlookers down the sidewalk. Edd finally came to and noticed the large group of people walking away and Marie, looking worried, standing beside him.

"Hello Marie. When did you get here?", said Edd with a flare of melancholy.

"Um...just now. Everything okay Double D?", Marie replied.

Edd closed his phone and nodded his head, trying to put on a smile. He needn't worry Marie with his petty troubles.

"You know you can come and talk to me if you need to right? Because you better, or I'll have to make you!", Marie said with a smirk.

"I know Marie. I promise you nothing is wrong. Just a little distracted was all. Nothing to worry about". Marie clearly wasn't buying it.

"That's a load of bull Double D, its written all over your face that something is bothering you. Look, if you need to talk about it later, I'm all ears. I hate to cut it short, but Mom needs my help with stuff back home. It's getting crazy over there.", said Marie. Getting ready to leave, Marie happened to look down and see Edd's bandaged hand. "Oh god, what happened to your hand?", said a concerned Marie.

Edd in turn looked down as well and offered a small chuckle. "Oh this? It's not nearly as bad as it looks. I simply dropped a glass in the sink and got a little cut up. I assure you it's fine."

Marie grabbed his hand and gave it a kiss. Edd's face went red as a tomato.

"You're the smart one, your supposed to know NOT how to get hurt!", Marie said with a giggle. "Look, I'll see ya soon, and we're not done talking about this Edd!". Marie smiled and began walking home. Edd wiped his face and tried to compose himself before continuing to head back.

The rest of Edd's day didn't go exactly as planned. When he returned home from shopping he ended up helping Mr. and Mrs. Golden pack their stuff into boxes so they could head over to their new, much smaller house. By the afternoon they had everything packed up and they were gone. They told him the new neighbors would be moving stuff in by the end of the day. He was excited to be able to meet them, but at the same time didn't really care. His dad's text was still bugging him. Sure it wasn't the first time this had happened and it surly wouldn't be the last, but lately Edd's really needed his parents around.

Once everything had quieted down Edd was finally able to get his models out and start putting them together. No way he'd be able to finish tonight though, with all the distractions he faced earlier in the day. And the new ones he was about to face. '_Knock Knock'._ Edd wasn't expecting any visitors today. Maybe it was Ed wanting to start watching his new show? He got up from the living room table where he had set up his kits and answered the door.

Opening the door, he was obviously surprised at the blue haired visitor.

"Told you I'd see ya soon!", Much to Edd's shock Marie was standing in his doorway. "So you going to invite me in?".

"Oh, of course. Please come in". It had been years since Marie was in his home, and the first time he had ever willingly let her in. She was looking around, seemingly in awe over everything. She made her way to the table where he was building his models. Marie picked up one of the boxes.

"Dinobots? Had no idea you were into that kind of thing Double D. They look awesome but those movies are all garbage". She was right, the transformers movies were awful, but all the years watching terribly made movies with Ed and Eddy, he started to secretly love the "so bad they're good" types of movies.

"So Marie, May I inquire as to why you come all the way out here to visit?", asked Edd

Marie saw this as a perfect chance to mess with Edd a little. She looked him in the eyes and started to pout.

"You're not happy to see me?", said Marie while maintaining her sad expression.

"Not at all! It's just that it's a ways out from your home, and it's getting...". Edd was cut off when he saw the moving truck pulling up next door. Marie looked out as well.

"New neighbors?", asked Marie while pointing back with her thumb.

"Yes. Apparently they have a child going to school with us. I was hoping to introduce myself before they got to busy. Excuse me for a moment please". Edd raced out his front door and headed over to the moving truck, which already had a few people taking boxes into the house. A women, just taller then Edd with dark blonde hair walked out. "Hello. Are you the family moving in"?

"I am. Who are you?", replied the blonde woman.

"My name is Eddward, I am you new neighbor. I wanted to come introduce myself before you got to busy unpacking".

"How sweet of you young man. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Diana. Are your parents around"?

"I'm afraid not. Their work requires them to travel most of the time. I'm sure they'll introduce themselves as soon as they return".

"That sounds great! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make sure these lug heads don't drop any of our stuff". Diana seemed like a nice women. She looked really familiar as well, but Edd couldn't put his finger on it...

"You meet your new neighbors"? Edd hadn't even noticed Marie walk up next to him.

"I did. Her name is Diana. She seems nice". As he said that Diana came back outside.

"Marie, want to pick which room is yours"?

"Yeah, I'm coming. Well, I got a lot of stuff to do Double D. I'll see you later...neighbor"! Marie ran inside what was apparently her new home. It took a minute, but everything suddenly registered in Edd's head. Marie saying her mom had gotten a big promotion at work. That's why Diana looked so familiar. This is what Marie was busy with all day. Edd stood with his jaw practically hitting the ground. Marie was his neighbor. Never in his life did he expect something like this to happen. He and Marie had grown a lot closer as friends since he returned, and with her next door now he would always have a friend around.

_This was a good thing, right?_

"Hey Double D! I can see into your room from here!", Marie yelled from her new bedroom window. He couldn't help but smile as he headed back to his house.


	5. Chapter 5

'What a crazy day' Edd thought to himself. Marie living next door. Never did he imagine something like this would transpire. Had this happened years ago surely it would be a nightmare, but he and Marie were closer than ever. He could say she was one of his better friends now, so he had no issue with her being so close. Edd looked out his living room window and still saw at least half a dozen men carrying things into the house. Based on the size of their trailer he was surprised by how much stuff they actually had, especially now that it was just the two of them living together. Well, since Marie's mother got a big enough promotion that she was able to afford a house it's not crazy to think she went out and bought a lot of things to fill it with. Still, they've been at it for over two hours.

It was dark out and normally around this time Edd was getting ready for bed, but tonight he really wasn't feeling the least bit sleepy. He didn't want to stay up late and ruin his schedule the day before going back to school, but at the same time there was no point in laying down for hours if he wasn't tired. He neatly tidied up the area he was building his model and went up to his bedroom to relax for a bit. From his room window he saw the moving truck in Marie's driveway finally leaving, he could also see boxes of Marie's stuff piled all over her room. Upon realizing how creepy staring into her bedroom looked he quickly turned his head and focused on his desk. He had found very nice containers he could display his models in and was carefully trying to fit the one he finished into one of them.

'**Knock knock**' Edd, thinking he was hearing things, ignored the quiet knocking sound. But then he heard it again, and again.

"Double D, open your window!" he heard someone yell from outside. He should have figured who it was. Marie was out on the balcony outside her room waving at him. He opened his window to see what she wanted.

"Hello Marie, how's the unpacking going"?

"It's dull. I found my box with all my movies in it, I was going to take a break for the night and watch some. Care to join me"? Edd knew he wouldn't be able to sleep for a while so hanging out with Marie could be a nice way to pass the time.

"I'd love to". Marie excitedly jumped and grabbed some cloths and movies from a box next to her.

"I'll be over in a few!" Edd headed downstairs to greet her. He could see Marie leaving her house talking with her mother. Before she headed over she gave her a kiss. He had no idea the kind of relationship Marie had with her mother so it was nice to see they seemingly got along well. He opened his door for her to come in, "Hiya puddin", Marie had changed into pajamas and had a backpack filled with movies. "Wasn't sure what you'd be in the mood for so I grabbed a bunch". They entered the living room where Edd had a 60 inch TV. They laid the movies out so they could decide what they'd watch. Edd saw a bunch of movies he loved in the pile. He wanted to watch something new though. He saw all the movies of the Dark Knight trilogy. He had never watched and heard nothing but praise for them. Marie also made a move for them. They're hands touched as they both went to pick them up, instantly causing Marie to throw her hand back and look away to avoid showing her slight blush. Edd reacted similarly. "So, I guess we want these." Marie packed the rest of the movies up and handed Edd the first disk.

"Would you like a refreshment Marie"?

"Such a gentlemen. I'd love some water." Edd entered the kitchen and retrieved some water for his guest. "Hey Double D, you don't happen to have any popcorn do you"?

"Already have it in the microwave". Edd suspected she'd want some based off the last time they hung out at her trailer watching wrestling. She made her way through almost three bags of it with little help from him. When the popcorn was finished he tossed Marie a water bottle and sat besides her on his couch. Edd couldn't help but let out a chuckle before the movie started, which caught Marie's attention.

"Something funny"?

"Oh nothing. I was just remembering the last time we were sitting here watching TV". Marie had to think about it for a second but ended up laughing herself. She and her sisters had each gotten into the Ed's houses and forced them on "dates". Edd and Marie had a movie date. They both laughed remembering how their relationship was when they were younger.

They didn't really talk while the movie was on. He enjoyed it a lot. Edd had never read a comic before so he didn't have any idea what to expect. He was pleasantly surprised.

"Did you like it?" Marie asked excitedly. It was obvious she really wanted him to say yes.

"I thought it was great.", he replied with a smile.

"Great! It's the worst of the three too. So I guess you'll love the other two". Marie looked at the clock in Edd's living room. It was just about midnight. "So. I guess you'll probably want me to head home now huh"? Edd saw that it was almost midnight. He still wasn't the least bit tired.

"I have no issue with you staying and watching the rest of the movies Marie, but won't your mother worry"? Marie laughed.

"I'm right next door Double D. She won't worry. I asked her how late I could be over and she said she didn't care. So I guess you're stuck with me all night".

"Well. I wouldn't say stuck. Would you like some more", before Edd could finish his sentence Marie was holding out the bowl that had popcorn in it. Edd smiled and went to the kitchen to refill it.

Time flew by as he sat watching the movies with Marie. At one point, when Marie had started getting tired, she started using Edd as a leg rest while she laid down. Normally Edd would ask her to remove her feet from him, but he was so into the movies he didn't really care. Plus, she looked comfy and he didn't want to make her move.

The last movie was finished, Edd was pleased with the trilogy and happy he had finally watched it. He looked over at Marie, she was sound asleep. She had fallen asleep midway through the last movie. He didn't know what to do now that it was over though. Did he wake her up so she could go home or just let her sleep on the couch... She looked to comfortable to wake up. Besides, he was honestly terrified of what she might do if he woke her up. Edd went to his upstairs closet and got a blanket and pillow. Being very gentle he got the pillow behind her head without a problem. When he placed the blanket over her she tugged on it, forcing Edd to fall her. It didn't wake her, but she now had her arms wrapped around his body and didn't seem like she was going to let go. With how tired he was, he honestly considered just laying there with her. But, with some skillful maneuvering he managed to free himself. It was a little after 5AM. Edd sluggishly made his way to his bed and immediately passed out.

**Beep beep**! Edd slapped his hand on his alarm clock. He knew he'd regret staying up all night. He threw off his blanket and opened his eyes.

"Hiya.", Marie said hovering over Edd. It took a second but Edd had a brief panic attack. Marie, who thought it was the funniest thing, calmed him down. "Chill Edd. I just heard your alarm go off and wanted to freak you out. Didn't think you'd be so unhappy to see me". Edd was a very cranky person when he didn't get enough sleep and so he wanted nothing to do with Marie's antics right now. He went straight into his bathroom and washed his face, hoping it would wake him up a bit. When he returned to his room Marie was nowhere to be seen. He did however, smell something wonderful coming from the kitchen. "Hey cranky. Made you some coffee. Hope you don't mind". She handed Edd a cup of wonderful coffee. He immediately became more enjoyable company once he took a sip. "I take it you like it".

"Very much. Sorry about that. If I don't get enough sleep I can",

"Be a brat. I noticed.", Marie said cutting him off in her usual playful tone.

"Yes. I suppose that's the best way to describe it. So, would you like anything to eat"?

"Oh?" she replied with an excited inflection. "You're offering me breakfast? I wouldn't say no to a few pieces of toast".

"Coming right up". After a long night of watching movies they both enjoyed some conversation while eating breakfast. They talked about the summer, school starting tomorrow, Marie still having to unpack most of her stuff, her sisters, everything that came to their mind. *_Ring_* Edd's phone began ringing. The conversation was short and Edd looked a bit upset afterwords.

"Who was that? Everything okay?", she asked with a hint of worry.

"Yes, everything is fine. I just forgot I was supposed to fix a laptop for someone. They're picking it up later today and I still have a lot of work to do on it".

"So I should go then".

"It would probably help".

"Oh fine.", said Marie, trying to hide her obvious disappointment. "Thanks for breakfast. This was fun. We'll have to have some more sleepovers soon". After getting the desired reaction from Edd she walked over to the door, "Well aren't you going to open it for me"? Being the gentlemen he was Edd did indeed walk over and open the door for Marie, much to her delight. "Well I guess I'll see ya later". Marie wrapped herself around Edd and squeezed him before running off home. A few of the kids were out enjoying the last day of summer and took notice to Marie leaving Edd's house.

"Yeah Double D!" Kevin yelled from across the street. Edd payed no mind to him though, waving goodbye to Marie.

Marie walked into her house to see her mother sitting on the kitchen making some breakfast.

"Hey mom.", she said throwing her bag on the living room couch. Her mother was grinning ear to ear when she saw her daughter come in.

"So, you have fun all night with your boyfriend"? Marie angrily hid her face to avoid her mother see her blush.

"He's not my boyfriend mother"!

"Mhm, if you say so honey. I remember you used to never shut up about that boy. All three of you. You'd tortured those poor Ed boys everyday. Kind of surprised he's still talking to you. So what you two do all night"? Her mother's tone very clearly stated what she meant.

"Nothing you perv! We watched movies, ate popcorn, I fell asleep on the couch and in the morning he made breakfast".

"He made you breakfast? Wish I had someone to do that. Sounds like you were having fun, why'd you leave"?

"He had work to do and I'd just distract him, so I left".

"Well don't worry dear, I'm sure he wasn't actually going to meet up with some girl or anything like that". Marie's mother loved nothing more then messing with her daughter. Clearly Marie was having none of it right now and went up to her room. As soon as she walked in she looked at her phone. She left it here last night and missed a few calls.

"Why didn't you answer my calls last night!" a nasally high pitched voice on the other line screamed.

"I was at Double D's last night, didn't bring my phone".

"What!? You spent the night at Double D's"?

"Nothing happened May. We watched movies and I passed out on his couch. I just got back home".

"So are you two like, dating now"?

"No! I just had to deal with mom I'm not doing this again".

"Okay okay, sorry. So...did you make a move"? Marie ended the call, not feeling like dealing with May right now. She jumped into her bed. Though it was so cluttered she could barely fit on it. She couldn't stop thinking about last night. Her phone started going off.

"Damn it May".


	6. School: Day One

Tomorrow's the day. The return to school. Edd has enjoyed his summer tremendously but as always couldn't wait for school to begin again. As he always does, he prepared everything he needed for tomorrow in advance. His outfit cleaned, ironed, and hanging. His bag fitted with all the supplies he would need, and arranged for Kevin to give him a lift to school (Edd wasn't overly fond of public transportation. Germs and all that). Edd felt good. Like. Like today was the beginning of something. A new chapter in his life. Unfortunately, he didn't know just how right he was.

Edd was cleaning the last bit of the living room. Due to the festivities he and Marie had it was a little dirtier than usual. _KrRaKkaBoomM__m__! _Something came flying through Edd's living room window! Whatever it was smashed right into his arm (the same one he cut earlier). There was a sickening pain in his arm, he feared it was broken. He forced his way back to his feet to see if there was anything outside the now shattered window. With his vision blurry from the pain he couldn't make out much of anything, although he thought he saw someone running away. But there was no way for him to be sure.

After a minute had passed he got himself sitting on a chair and was able to look at his arm. It looked bad. Shards of glass were sticking out of him. Thankfully no big pieces, nothing he couldn't handle taking care of.

"Eddward are you alright!", Edd looked back out the window and saw Diana. She looked petrified. "What happened, are you alright?" she was practically screaming at him.

"I'm okay Diana, nothing I can't patch up." he tried to reassure her but she was having none of that.

"Shut up and let me in so I can look at you!" This was nothing Edd couldn't handle himself, but Diana was adamant on making sure he was okay. It was nice to know she cared.

Diana carefully pulled out the shards stuck in Edd's arm. She let him bandage it back up himself. There was a nasty bruise, but the bone wasn't broken. They had found the object that smashed threw the window laying on the couch. It was a brick. Someone actually shot a brick into his window. Diana insisted that he called the police, however he refused. Not a whole lot they could do, he didn't see anyone. He was sure it was just some hoodlum doing hood rat things. Diana cleaned up all the mess for Edd. She refused to let him lift a finger while she was there.

"Alright. Everything looks good now. Make sure you leave ice on that all night. I really think you should have called the cops, but whatever. You're okay, for the most part, and that's what matters. Marie will be relieved." Marie? Did she know something happened? "She heard the shatter and tried running right over. Didn't think it was safe so I made her stay inside". Edd showed a little grin, and Diana took notice. "I can send her over if you want. Sure she could help you feel better". Edd turned bright red. He definitely saw where Marie got her charm...

Edd took some pain killers before he tried laying down. They helped, but it was still unbearable and he got little sleep at all. All this the night before school started. Well. At least the first day never usually required much thought. Hopefully it would fly by.

6:AM. Edd's alarm went off. He immediately smashed his hand on it. He was already awake and not in a pleasant mood. His arm barely felt any better and didn't get three hours of sleep. Plus he was going to have to re-bandage his arm after his shower. Hopefully people didn't ask what happened. Showered, re-bandaged, and wearing his school cloths slightly improved Edd's mood. He sluggishly made his way downstairs for some breakfast. Like always he made himself some eggs, pancakes, toast, and some orange juice. He was just about finished when he heard a knock on his door. Edd assumed it would be Ed. He had always liked stopping by in the mornings. But to his surprise It was Marie. She looked worried. Obviously because of what happened last night.

"Good morning Marie. How are",

"Don't "how are you" me", she interrupted, "how's your arm? What the hell happened last night"? She was using the same demanding voice her mother used. It was scary how alike they were. But before he could reply she grabbed his arm and started yelling. Edd tried to explain that he was okay. Should have known it wouldn't do any good. After a moment she did manage to calm down a bit. "Sorry. I know how you are in the morning and me coming over screaming at you probably didn't help any. Anyways, you're taking the bus to school right"?

"Actually no. I asked Kevin if he could drive me".

"Let me guess. All the filthy germs right?" she said in her most mocking voice. But she wasn't wrong, buses are filthy germ infested cesspools. "How about we walk instead"? The walk to school was only 10 or so minutes. So Edd had no problem walking. He sent Kevin a text and he and Marie headed out. For being 6:30 it was surprisingly warm out. "Do you really think it's safe to just leave your house like that? All you did was put a tarp over the window. Not exactly a great security measure".

"True. But it was all I had at the time. Your mother said she'd keep an eye out on the house until I got back. I have to get a replacement later today. Rolf said he'd help me put it in".

"Good. You shouldn't be doing _anything_ with that hand". Marie gave a devious look.

"Oh grow up Marie". She laughed at Edd's reaction, as she usually did. Edd wouldn't admit it but he actually enjoyed the odd back and forth he and Marie would have from time to time. He always knew she was just joking around so he could never take the things she said seriously. _Beep beep! _Some car had honked while driving next to the two.

"Yeah Double D!" yelled the driver as he sped by. It was Kevin.

"Ugh, I can't stand that guy". Marie and Kevin never got along. Their personalities just wouldn't let them be in the same room as each other. "Why's he even going to school this early"?

"He plays basketball in the gym before class starts".

"Oh! Can't believe I didn't ask. What's your schedule? Let's see if we have any classes together". Their school schedules were made up so they had four periods a day and four different days, A/C and B/D. "Looks like we have lunch together on A/C days and Study Hall on B/D. Well, at least it's something". Marie looked noticeably upset at their lack of classes. Edd knew Marie didn't get along with a ton of people. She was easy to irritate, so to speak. The walk to school went quick as Marie described a movie she watched last night to him. Pan's labyrinth. Certainly not the kind of thing he would ever watch. Alone, anyways.

The school buses were arriving and kids were excitedly running to hug and say hi to their friends they've not seen over the summer.

"Double D"! The call came from Edd's perky blonde friend Nazz, who had wrapped herself around him. She was the one person he actually hadn't gotten a chance to see since getting home. "Dude, I missed you all summer. You have to tell me all about it soon alright"? Edd promised they'd get together soon and catch up.

"Forgot how much blondy liked you", Edd rolled his eyes.

Edd's first class was History, one of his favorite subjects. When he found the class he saw Rolf sitting in one of the front row tables (two people to each table).

"Double D Edd boy, come, sit with Rolf"! Rolf not being from the United States Edd knew he would be entertaining to have in this class. The students pilled in quick. Kevin and Nazz were also in the class. The teacher was the last one to show up. He was a pretty young guy, couldn't be older then 26. He held a cup of coffee in one hand and was wheeling in a cart filled with books in the other.

"Good morning class", he said after taking a huge gulp of his coffee. "My name is Mr. West, but most of you knew that. You can call me that, or Adam, I truthfully don't care ether way". Mr. West was the teacher of 10th grade history last year and moved up with them, so most kids in his class had him the year earlier. "Alright. So today is the first day back. Normally that means we do nothing but talk about what we're going to do the rest of the year. But let's be different. How about I give you your first assignment". The class collectively moaned. "Ah. Better then coffee... Alright, so your first assignment is to find a tradition of any other country you find interesting and write about it. Simple right? Doesn't even have to be that long. Just get your minds turning a little bit. These books will help you figure out which traditions you want to write about. They're all different so don't try copying off your neighbor". Mr. West started passing out books to each of the students.

"Rolf needs no book! He will write of the all important tradition of the _Passing of the goat _from his home country". Mr. West smiled. He was never shy about talking about how Rolf was his favorite student. Mostly because of the odd way he spoke and the crazy stories and customs of his home country. The rest of class was spent looking through books and each student finding something that was mildly entertaining to them. Edd of course finished his in no time and spent a lot of the class listening to Rolf talk about his home. The hour and a half class went by very quick and the kids were off to second period. Edd and Rolf walked out together talking of the punishments of not returning someones goat, which apparently was 2 bags of beans, 5 pigs, and a turnip.

After his brief exchange with his friend, Edd hurried to locate his locker. The students there would have the same locker the first two years then get a new one for the later half. He didn't understand it himself, he saw no reason to switch lockers, but it wasn't a big deal. Although, finding it was a bit of a hassle. His locker, number 34, was right across from the art room. It was a little inconvenient for him, most of his classes were on the other side of the school. Not wanting to be late he made what exchanges in books he needed and made his way to his second period class. Or, he tried to at least. _SLAM_! Edd was shoved right into his locker, with his bad arm taking the front of the blow. He dropped his books and fell to the floor. Luckily some nearby kids helped him up and assisted him to the nurse.

"Eddward, this is a very nasty bruise. How in the world you get it?"inquired the schools nurse Mrs. J.

"Oh, you know, goofing around with friends. Just an accident." Eddward felt no need to inform the nurse of what had really happened. She couldn't give Edd any painkillers but re-bandaged it and taped a bag of ice on it. "Thank you Mrs. J.".

"No problem sweetie. Did yo see who it was that shoved you in the hallway"?

"I'm afraid not. I'd better hurry to class. Have a good day". Truth be told Edd did know who shoved him. He just didn't want to think about it. Or what it meant about last night.

Second period English came and went quick. Being the first day nothing to intense was given out, mostly just an overview of the next couple of projects and books they would be reading (all of which Edd had already read). His third period AP Physics class was much the same. They went over the summer work they had been given and that was about it. When lunch came around Edd was more than ready for a break. Hopefully things would get more enjoyable as the days went on.

"Hey Double D". To Edd's delight Marie showed up just as he had found a table to eat his lunch at.

"Hello Marie. How's your day going"?

"Boring. I'm already fed up with the kids and want to go home and get in my pajamas. How about you, wait, why's there an ice pack taped to your arm? Did you hurt it already"?

"Someone fell into me in the hallway and I smashed it into my locker. No big deal, the nurse insisted I wear the ice pack". He didn't want to tell her someone shoved him into his locker. He knew how Marie could get, and she would get mad. He began eating the salad he packed himself while Marie ate the "food" the cafeteria was giving out. They made small talk but since their lunch was only 30 minutes they had to pack back up and head to their last class of the day. Marie had an art class while Edd had study hall. He decided to spend it in the library looking ahead in his Physics book. The library was surprisingly full for it being the first day, only one or two tables available for him to sit.

30 minutes into the hour and a half period and Edd had worked through the third chapter of the book and showed no sign of slowing down.

"Excuse me." he heard a quiet voice say. Edd looked up from his book and saw a girl standing over him.

"Hello. Is there something I can assist you with"? The girl looked very scared. Trembling even.

"Um... yes, may I...may I sit here please?" she slowly stuttered out. "All the other tables are taken". Edd was reminded of how he himself used to be while talking to her. A stuttering nervous mess. Obviously he wanted to make her feel welcome and be polite so he insisted she sit with him. The young lady was a tad shorter then Edd and had long bright red hair wrapped into a pony tail and glasses. Edd has always loved red hair and took notice of hers immediately.

"Of course you may sit here." Edd moved his bag and the books he had scattered across the table to make room for her. "My name is Eddward, Edd or Double D for short, and you are"?

"Anna." she stumbled out nervously as she pulled her books and notebook out. Edd looked at the books she pulled out and noticed she also had an AP Physics book.

"Oh, you're also in AP Physics"? She nodded her head, smiling slightly. "It's nice to see someone else use their free time to get ahead of their school work. Most just use these periods to sleep". Edd looked around the library where almost half the students had nodded off.

"The cafeteria was way to loud to get anything done so I ran here (fourth period study hall was held in the cafeteria). I figured it would be the quietest place in the school". Neither of them said another word until the class was over. While they were packing up she finally spoke again. "Thank you for letting me sit with you Eddward".

"Think nothing of it Anna. Anytime you need a place to sit feel free to find me". Anna smiled and walked out of the library with Edd not far behind. He had to make a quick stop at is locker before beginning his walk home.

Marie was exiting her art class as Edd arrived at his locker."Hey Double D. You walking me home today"?

"Of course I am Marie". Marie looked broken and tired.

"I don't get how you are so peppy after school. How do you enjoy this"?

"Didn't you just have art class? I thought you'd be happy having that as your last period".

"I do love art, but the teacher is a pain. "Do this the way I'm doing, every other way is wrong". Ugh, I want to punch her". Marie rested her head on Edd's shoulder. He patted it, all the while laughing at Marie's melodramatic acting.

They quickly reached their street and Marie was ongoing about how much food she needed to eat when she got home.

"Finally! Now I can eat something". Marie ran up to her door and noticed a rather large package. "Oh sweet, it got here early"! Curious, Edd walked over and looked at the package.

"What is it"?

"5,000 Magic the Gathering cards. Got um on Ebay".

"Why on earth would you order 5,000 cards"?

"Because they look awesome and I love them. Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm going to make myself a feast while separating them. Have fun shopping for your window". Jeez. Somehow Edd had forgotten about that. He gave Rolf a call and asked him when he would have time to help. He said he was on his way over now. This was the last thing Edd wanted to spend his day doing, but having Rolf there to help out made it tolerable. They could continue their conversation on Rolf's odd traditions and customs. So it wouldn't be all bad.


	7. School: The Second Day

With Rolf's help replacing the glass in his window was done in no time. It actually took longer picking out the glass then it did installing it. As a thank you to his friend for spending the past two hours helping him, Edd made Rolf dinner. Rolf wasn't a complex person so he was fine just having corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and rice, which was fantastic because Edd was so drained from the mind numbing day at school to do anything.

"And that is why the Barber is considered a man among men in Rolf's home country"!

"Absolutely fascinating Rolf. Your home sounds like such an interesting place. Would you like some desert"?

"Please, yes. Rolf would very much enjoy something sweet". Edd walked over to his fridge to get out some Quiche he had been meaning to eat.

"Would you mind explaining again why eat grass and chew soil"?

"Silly Edd boy, the..." Rolf stopped and stared at the quiche Edd pulled out of the fridge. Eyes wide and sweating, Edd wasn't sure what was happening.

"Rolf? Are you alright"? Rolf started flailing about and screaming in a language foreign to Edd. He ran out of the house screaming something about "The Cursed food". Edd looked intently at his quiche, not understanding the evil of it. But he thought it was best not to try and put logic behind Rolf and his ways and ate the quiche himself.

Edd looked at his clock, it was _4:30, _still so early in the day. Edd wasn't sure what to do with himself. He had gotten far enough in his Physics book for today at school, had ate dinner already, and no homework or books to read. Edd had a pretty one tracked mind. When he thought of doing something it became the only thing he wanted to devote his time to. He had studied up on gardening and ordered some very, very expensive foreign plant seeds. He wanted to begin his garden, but his father asked him to wait. One of the things he and his father shared was a love of gardening. They've built and managed many together. Edd's father hated how his constant travel and the harsh winters would leave nothing left of their gardens and talked to Edd about getting a greenhouse set up in their yard. Nothing extravagant, just something to have so they could enjoy having something in the winter. Edd had found a one for around 2000 dollars that was very nice for the price. He sent the details to his father but he hadn't gotten back to him about it yet. So until then he had no new project to start or anything fun to do really.

Edd went up to his room to check his email. He had decided a while ago to try to start his own business online. He fixed up computers for people. Stores like Best Buy horribly overcharged for repairs so he had a decent amount of business. Most of the computers he fixed were local, people in the area who could drop their stuff off to him and pick it up when he was done. Every now and again though he'd get mailed something. He offered to pay all shipping costs for his costumers as a way to draw in more business. It was a good move, and had drawn three more people to him today. He had emails from three different people who wanted to send him their computers. Normally the people who were willing to mail out their computers had serious issues with it. It won't turn on, shuts off after 5 minutes, things like that. To save them the trouble of having to mail it out, he would call each person and try and see if there was an easy fix he could help them with. These three were not such easy fixes unfortunately, so he was sent payment and they each mailed it out (express mail so they would get to him in the next day or two). So in the next day or so he had something fun to do (if you can call fixing computers fun). Edd laid across his bed, sun from the window hitting his face. He could go see if Kevin needed any help with his car. Maybe go out for some coffee or something with Nazz and catch up? Turns out there was quiet a few things he could do. For whatever reason he just didn't feel like it though. He just wanted to lay there in his bed. And that's what he did.

_12:43. _Edd awoke hours later, not remembering falling asleep. He was stunned at how long he had been out. He saw he had a few messages on his phone.

"_Hey man, you need a ride to school tomorrow"?_

Not thinking to much Edd responded to Kevin, who probably was long since asleep. Surprisingly, Edd was still exhausted and passed right back out.

_Ringggggg! _The morning bell at school was defining. Even after the hours of sleep Edd had gotten last night he was still in a grumpy morning mood. The first two periods of school were electives Edd had chosen, Culinary Arts and Forensics. Being the first day of class today was much like yesterday. Talking about what they were going to be doing. There weren't many familiar faces in the classes. Although while talking to Kevin this morning Edd found out they would have Gym together.

At his locker Edd got the books and such he would need for his Calculus class. He was hoping they would be doing something other than talk today, even if was just going over the summer work he had to do for the class. Bending down to get a new notebook Edd's hat dropped off his head. He went to grab it and he saw his locker slam shut. He looked up to an irritated Marie.

"Good mor",

"Don't good morning me! Where were you this morning? I walked to school all alone. Do you know what can happen to a pretty girl walking by herself that early? I could have been killed".

"I'm sorry Marie, truly I am. I got offered a ride and forgot about walking with you. You know I am in the morning".

"Well. Good to see who's important to you".

"Rest assured, tomorrow, if you'd like, I'd love to walk together".

"I don't know. I may get a ride and leave you all by yourself". Edd felt awful. He knew Marie was just messing around, for the most part, but still felt terrible that he forgot about her.

"How about as a way to say I'm sorry, tomorrow I make you some desert? Chocolate Fudge cake was your favorite if I recall correctly".

"I don't know. Maybe that would be nice.", Marie was trying her hardest to hide the smile showing on her face. "Why can't you do it today"?

"I got a call from the post office. Some computers arrived at my house. I have to fix them up. Would like to get it started tonight".

"What?! So you forgot"? Edd looked dumbfounded at Marie. Had he promised to do something? "You said you'd come chill at my house after school today. Said you would start watching Arrow with me". Edd had absolutely no memory of saying he would do that (probably because Marie was making it up).

"I'm sorry Marie. Perhaps we can reschedule"?

"Oh no no no Double D, you are not blowing me of twice. I don't care what you're doing, we're hanging out", Marie said, in a very assertive tone that Edd has become all to familiar with. "You can bring the computers you have to fix over to my house and work on them there". As usual Edd didn't feel like arguing with Marie. It would be harder to fix them while trying to entertain her, but, at least he would have company. She knew he was defeated and brushed her hand threw his hair, making it all messy and unkempt. "I forget how long your hair is sometimes. It's so cute. You should let it down sometimes", she waved as she walked off to her class. Edd tried to fix his hair and placed his hat back on before continuing to Calculus.

The class was not surprisingly, very small. Other than Edd there only five other students in the class so far. The teacher Mr. W. was writing something on the chalk board while humming something that sounded very familiar. Edd grabbed the seat closest to the front of the room for the best visibility of the board. He pulled out the summer work he had to do for the class and eagerly awaited for the class to begin. A handful of other students began walking in, including Anna, who he said hello to when she took the seat to his left. The desk to his right was taken by a boy who Edd had never seen. He introduced himself and the boy smiled and extended his hand for a handshake. The boy's nails were painted a bright red that matched his hair. That took Edd a little by surprise, which made the boy laugh.

This was the first class Edd had that really made him think. He always loved math and dug his teeth into what the teacher was saying. It helped that Mr. W. was a great teacher. Edd had heard that he was one of the better teachers in the school and was very excited to learn from him. Mr. W. had a kind of kooky charisma to him. When he talked, you couldn't help but to absorb every word he said. He also had a habit of making fun of his students when he could. Never in a mean way, always very playfully. He had already got Edd with a hat joke and the boy next to him with a quip about his nails. Both of which were hilarious. He could tell which students wouldn't like it, like Anna, and avoided picking on them. He let the class know that it was open season on him as well. He pointed to his bald head and short stature as inspiration.

In what seemed like no time at all the class was over and Edd was sitting in the lunch room eating his prepared lunch. Halfway through his salad he saw Ed running towards him.

"Double D"! Edd hadn't really seen Ed since he gave him those old videos before school started.

"Hello Ed, how are you enjoying school"? Ed's jolly expression was gone, and he began to pout.

"Oh Double D, school is bad! All the teachers are mean to me". Double D tried to reassure his friend that the teachers merely wanted Ed to live up to his potential. Ed however was convinced they were all aliens waiting to "devour his soul" as he put it. Ed spent the rest of the lunch period telling Edd about the Toilet titans and their crazy adventures. It actually peeked Edd's interest in checking it out.

Once lunch had ended Edd realized he didn't have to go anywhere as fourth period study hall was held in the cafeteria. He also realized that he would be spending the entirety of the rest of his day with Marie. He decided to run and use the facilities before class began. The bathrooms at the school were not the cleanest, but you can only hold it in so long.

Not many classes were held in this side of the school last period so the halls were mostly clear of activity and Edd was able to reach the bathroom quick. However, he wasn't alone. As he entered the facility he saw a familiar face. One he was hoping he would be able to avoid for a while.

"Um...h...hello Eddy". His "friend" locked his eyes on him and didn't move. A very clear anger was building in Eddy. His fists were clenched, he was grinding his teeth. Edd was legitimately afraid of what Eddy may be thinking about doing. The bell for class rang, and Eddy began towards Edd. He grabbed onto his shirt and,

"Hey boys, better get to class before you get detention". One of the security guards happened to be passing by. He saved Edd from whatever ill fate Eddy had in store for him. Edd only wished he knew exactly why his friend was so mad at him...

Edd practically sprinted to his study hall class and saw Marie sitting next to his backpack. She looked completely drained of life. Marie was very smart herself but she couldn't stand being in school most of the time. Edd made a quick stop at one of the vending machines in the cafeteria and got a large Hershey chocolate bar. He knew it was her favorite candy. When Edd arrived back Marie's head was flat down on the table. He tapped her head with the chocolate bar. Slowly she raised her head up to see what it was. Unsurprisingly the sight of it brought a new life into her.

"Oh my god, thank you Double D!", Edd had never seen someone enjoy chocolate so much. "This day just needs to end man. It's the second day of school and all these morons are already screaming at each other in the halls, "Get off my man", "You can't make him happy like I can". Ugh, just shoot me". Edd grabbed a small piece of the chocolate bar. The thing he liked most about Marie was how entertained he could be just by sitting near her. Her little rants were always rather entertaining.

Edd decided to finish off what little homework he had gotten today so he could focus on the computers. Marie made quick work of what homework she had as well, then pulled out a bunch of those cards she was talking about the other day. Edd had no idea what she was doing with them. She was making quiet a few different piles of them. He looked away from his books and finally asked her.

"Hey Marie, what are you doing"?

"Just separating these cards", she said, not taking her eyes off them. Edd got a closer look at them. She seemed to be separating them by color. "There are five different colors, White, Blue, Red, Black, and Green. Separating them like this just makes it easier to builds a deck".

"Are these the cards you got in the mail"?

"Nope. Still separating those at home. My buddy Justin gave me these. He has a ton of extra and didn't really need these". Justin, that name sounded familiar. His Calculus class! He thought he heard Mr. W. call the boy next to him Justin.

"Does he have red hair... and nails"?

"Yep. You know him"?

"Yes. He's in my Calculus class. Him and our teacher Mr. W. were taking shots at each other all class".

"Hahaha, yeah, he told me about that before I came here. He taught me to play this a while ago, never had a deck of my own though. It's going to crush everybody!", Marie said enthusiastically. So. Him and Marie were close then? Edd had no idea why that thought crossed his mind. Or why it upset him. Marie, for the first time, looked up from her cards with a raised eyebrow. "Don't look so jealous sweetie.", she said with a giggle. "He's been a good friend for a long time, more like a brother. So you don't have to worry about losing me", she rubbed his cheek with a devilish grin. He pushed it away and went back to his work while she just laughed. The rest of their study hall went more or less the same and as soon it was over and they were on their way home. "I'm so hungry! I need to make a few pounds of Ramen when I get home".

"What's Ramen"? Marie's jaw pretty much dropped to the ground. She got really close to his face.

"You've never had Ramen?! What is wrong with you"? Edd rarely sees her this serious. It was kind of frightening. "Well, I guess I'm making you dinner today." she said with an innocent smile. Edd stopped home to drop off his school supplies and grab one the computers and some stuff he would need to try and fix it. Two of them had problems similar to one he fixed recently so he knew they wouldn't take to long to figure out. With everything he needed he made his way to Marie's. The front door was wide open. Being the polite person he was he still knocked. "It's open for a reason Double D". This was his first time seeing the inside of her house. For just moving it it was surprisingly tidy. "Love you too mom". Marie threw her phone onto the dining room table. "Nice right"?

"Very". The decor and photos on the walls caught Edd's eye. Lots of pictures of Marie and her sisters with their mom. There was a picture of Marie before she started dying her hair blue.

"Don't look at that! I looked so bad back then". _Ding ding. _There was a timer going off in the other room. "Water's done boiling. Get yourself situated in my room if you'd like. Food will be done in a minute".

"You know you didn't have to",

"Oh shut up Double D.", Marie interrupted. "How many times have you done stuff like this for me? I'm making you dinner and you're going to love it". Marie ran to tend to the kitchen while Edd went up to Marie's room and set up his laptops. It was only a few minutes before Marie came up with two bowls of Ramen. It smelled delicious and instantly made Edd's mouth water. She handed him his bowl, which was extremely hot, and sat down besides him on her bed. "It's best when it's still hot. It's chicken flavored. The best one there is".

"You know I'm a vegetarian don't you"?

"Jesus, not real chicken Edd! Just eat the damn food before I do". Edd took his first bite. The look on his face was the most wonderful thing Marie had ever seen. He looked at Marie with the happiest of expressions.

"This. Is, the greatest thing I've ever eaten".

"Why must you doubt me? I told you they were amazing". Edd scarfed down the entire bowl in no time at all.

Marie was looking over his shoulder at what he was doing to the computers. He had the broken one hooked up to his own so he could see what was on it, and what was causing the problems.

"This guy has an unreal amount of viruses on here". Edd was doing his best to back everything on the man's computer up while deleting everything hurting it. It was a very slow process. Marie turned on Netflix and started playing the show Arrow, a super hero show based on the character Green Arrow. The two watched the first five episodes. After that Edd was about done fixing up the computer. "That was so tedious.", said Edd, relieved to be finished with it.

"What would make him have all those viruses on there"?

"Any number of things. It's probably best we don't know exactly what he does on here". Marie wasn't going to except that answer. She grabbed the computer and began looking through it. "Marie! It's wrong to go through somebodies privet files"!

"Oh come on Double D. You know you want to poke around". Marie clicked on a folder and it opened up a whole lot of pictures.

"Oh dear lord!", Edd screamed. Marie shared his reaction, slamming the computer shut.

"Okay. Bad idea".

"Why must you doubt me." said a smug Edd.


	8. Chapter 8

Edd knew the first days back at school were going to be a pain. Thankfully school started on a Thursday, so after the dread of the first few days the weekend arrived quick to help the students ease back into the flow of things. Edd planed on using the weekend to further his studies in his Calculus class. Mr. W informed his classes that surprise quizzes would be something that happened often, and to be prepared for them. Edd planned to heed his teacher's warning. He had the desk in his bedroom all set up for his studies. His textbook, notes, and a large amount of references he got from the internet. He wanted to be sure there was nothing he came across that he could not solve.

Sometimes Edd wondered if he should spend his Friday nights out with friends, like most kids his age do. He liked to be social, to a degree anyways, but found the joy of being by himself and his studies just suited him more.

"Huh?", Edd's phone rang a familiar tune. The one that played when his mother was calling. It had been a while since he heard from his parents so he joyfully answered the call. "Hello? Mother"?

"Eddward! So sorry we haven't been able to call or check in. Work has been very demanding as of late. How is everything at home? How are you"? His mother spoke very fast, as she did when she was nervous or guilty. Edd knew how she must feel not being able to check in in so long.

"I understand Mother, your work is very important and you don't have a lot of time. Everything here in great. School started Thursday and went well. I received a bunch of new computers to fix up so I'll have some money to put away. Oh! We have new neighbors as well. Mr. and Mrs. Golden moved out, unfortunately".

"They did? That's to bad. They've lived there for as long as I can remember. Long before we ever moved into our house. They were such nice people. Did you introduce yourself to the new neighbors yet"?

"Right as they arrived. Do you remember the Kankers"?

"Those girls that would chase you and your friends around when you were younger? Of course, why"?

"Well, they're the new neighbors. Well, Marie and her mother anyways".

"How does the mother seem"?

"She's very nice. A lot like Marie actually. There was an...accident. Our living room window was broken. She watched over the house while I was at school and until I was able to replace it".

"How did the window break? Are you alright? How have you and Marie gotten along"?

"I'm fine Mother." Edd didn't want to worry his mother with things like the brick. Which he knew he probably should. "Marie and I are getting along very well. We've been spending a lot of time together recently. It's nice having someone to talk to while you and Dad are away". Edd heard what sounded like distant shouting on his mothers end.

"Well I'm glad you two are getting close, and don't worry, we'll be home soon son. I have to go now though. I love you, and see you soon".

"Goodbye. Love you too mom". Edd hung up his phone. Only a little while longer. Hopefully this time they'll be able to stay around a while longer. With that, Edd continued to his studies for the rest of the night.

The morning sun's light shone through Edd's curtains, waking him just before his alarm sounded off. He slept fantastically. For the first time in a while he felt good. After a quick shower and breakfast Edd found himself tinkering with the remaining two computers he was to fix. He had always found it oddly soothing tinkering with things, weather he was fixing or building, it didn't matter. It was what made him happy. He was "in the zone", so to speak, when someone started knocking at his door. Opening the door revealed it to be Kevin.

"Good morning Kevin", he said, surprised to see him. "Is there something I can assist you with"?

"Hey Double D, yeah, someone broke into my car last night. Not sure how they managed to turn off the alarm but they made off with my stereo system". Edd was shocked. Not only because someone actually broke into Kevin's car, but because he had one of those obnoxious stereo systems that took up the entire trunk of his car. How could someone make off with that he wondered?

"I'm so sorry to hear that Kevin. Any ideas who is behind this"?

"No. Called the cops. They said a lot of car theft has been going on in the area. I'm putting in a new alarm and replacing what was taken. Luckily the insurance company is taking care of most of it".

"I'm glad to hear that. So, did you want my help putting it back in your car, or"?

"No, my dad is going to help me out. I was going to ask if I could borrow some stuff. It's a complicated installation and I'm short a few things".

"Oh, no problem. I'm actually a little preoccupied with something at the moment anyways". Edd went into the other room and grabbed his garage keys. "You know where everything is right? You can take whatever you need".

"Thanks man". Edd trusted Kevin to place all of his tools back to their assigned places when he was done. Besides, Edd truthfully just didn't feel like going through all the supplies Kevin would probably need.

Edd worked on computers up until lunch. He was astounded how much time went by. Didn't feel that long at all to him. _Knock knock. _Someone was again knocking on his door. Edd thought it was Kevin returning his garage key.

"Hiya neighbor". He was pleasantly surprised to see Marie in his place.

"Hello Marie. How are you"?

"Hungry! And you promised me cake today". Edd gestured for her to enter. Marie was holding her laptop, which not surprisingly, was decorated with things she had drawn, very skillfully, on it. "So is it safe to assume that you forgot all about me again and didn't make me my cake"?

"I would not allow myself to break a promise to you Marie. I had planned to make it later in the day. But, since you're here, now is fine too".

"Good. I've been looking forward to this all night".

"Well I'll do my best not to disappoint". Marie sat on the living room couch doing something on her computer while Edd started baking her the cake he promised. Since it was a cake mix Edd didn't have to do a lot of work. He wanted to make some fancy designs with the frosting though. Make it a little more aesthetically pleasing.

Edd snuck up on Marie to try and see what she was doing. She was on a site called " Fan Fiction" looking at some writing.

"Marie looked on as the Raptor pack swarmed thew area. With nowhere to run, it seemed they were all but doomed", he read aloud.

"Edd! Don't read it"! She screamed as she slammed her computer closed.

"Why not? It sounded interesting. What was it"?

"Nothing. Just. Something I write when I can. Jurassic Park Fan Fiction". Edd plopped down on the couch and laid down, placing his head on her lap.

"Well. Read it to me. We have a little time to kill before I have to frost the cake. Come on. It'll be fun. Did you put anyone else in it? Or just you"?

"Um...most of us". She was being a lot more withdrawn about this then Edd thought. She didn't seem like the kind of person who would get nervous over something like this. "Here. You read it. I'll just sit here until you're done". She put the computer on his lap. Alright, Edd thought to himself. He went to get up, but Marie stopped him. "You can stay there. If you want". Marie wasn't the type to get embarrassed over things, but Edd swore he saw her blush. So he sat there, using Marie as his pillow, and quickly read through the few chapters Marie had written. It was all about Marie and a group of people visiting a fully functional Jurassic Park. Obviously, they escape and cause havoc. He was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. "So. What do you think"?

"I loved it", he said while adjusting his body off Marie. "Have you written anymore"?

"No. Just that for now. Having a writer's block thing right now. You really liked it"? Edd did his best to reassure her that it was a well written story as he began finishing up the cake. Which didn't take long seeing as all he had to do was frost it.

"And it's done. One Chocolate Fudge Cake." He handed Marie a slice. "How's it taste"? Edd was always very proud of his baking. True, this wasn't really his seeing as it was just a cake mix. However he still took great pride in making it as good as he possibly could.

"Oh my god, it's so good". Marie said with a stuffed mouth. "Dude, did you put ice cream in the middle"? Edd always liked to throw in his own little touches. Apparently it paid off. "Double D, you're the best". Edd grabbed a piece for himself and they sat at the kitchen table eating together. Something that had become quite the norm as of late. Between having lunch together at school and often just spending the rest of the day together after school Edd and Marie almost always ended up eating together. Speaking of which.

"Hey, Marie".

"Yeah"?

"Would you mind making some more Ramen later"? Marie smiled, knowing she was right about how much he'd love it.

"Of course I will. You took the time to make me this cake. There's nothing a girl won't do for you if you make her dessert. Nothing". Marie was clearly implying something, and Edd laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind".

"Oh"? Marie wasn't expecting that from Edd. Usually he just brushes off things like that when she talks. Marie stood up to take her plate to the sink. And she abruptly fell down. Edd rushed to her to make sure she didn't bang her head or anything.

"Are you alright Marie"? She was rubbing her head. Edd checked, there were no bumps or scratches. He got an ice pack for her though. "Can never be to careful. Keep this on your head for a little bit". He placed the pack on her head where he thought he saw some bruising.

"Thanks Double D. Only I can manage to trip standing still. Ow! Ah that hurts. And that's freezing"! Edd made sure there was nothing else on her head to worry about. He did notice something. Though completely unrelated to her fall. Marie had insanely soft hair. He found himself just combing his hand through it. He wasn't completely aware that he was doing it ether. Marie however, was absolutely loving it. Her head eventually rested on Edd and that's when he realized what he was doing.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry Marie. I didn't mean to".

"Oh no no no it's fine."Marie said, looking annoyed that he stopped. They were sitting on the floor very close to each other. And for the first time Edd really noticed Marie had freckles on her face. How had he never noticed before? He stared at them, again not really realizing he was doing it. Wait, was Marie's face getting closer to his? Her perfume smelled so nice. What was happening? Their faces were almost touching. And they would have. If Edd's front door hadn't opened.

"Mom, Dad, you're home"!?

**AN: So this is a bit shorter then normal and not my best. I'm having bad writer's block right now but wanted to make sure I got something out. And that Jurassic Park FanFic Marie was writing is actually something I'm writing and may end up posting as bonus chapters on here. Thanks for reading! **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So That last chapter I posted a few days ago felt way to short and like there was a lot of stuff I should have added. So I wrote this up to throw in everything I wanted for that chapter. Enjoy!**

Edd was in awe. The absolute last thing he expected was for his parents to walk through the door. All while he was on the floor. With a girl. Who has an ice pack on her head. He couldn't imagine how this looked to his parents. His mother threw her bags on the floor and ran over to hug her son. She was squeezing so tight Edd could barely get a breath out.

"Mother, how are you home already?", he managed to squeeze out. His mother let go and stood up.

"We weren't needed anymore. There was a lot of help for us down there, so we could leave early". Edd honestly wasn't too sure what they were even doing this time, but, he had no reason to doubt his mother. He really couldn't care less ether. He was just happy to see them home again. Edd's father walked over and hugged his son.

"Good to see you Edd. Sorry I never got back to you about the greenhouse. I liked the one you showed me". Edd's father reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a sketchpad. "Although I think some improvements could be done". Edd gave a quick look over of what his father had done. His father was just as good a builder, engineer, and designer as he was. Actually, a lot better in most regards. "Look over that tonight and give me your thoughts on it tomorrow. Ooo, cake!", his father ran into the kitchen when he saw the cake Edd and Marie had been eating. "Fudge cake with vanilla ice cream filling. It's like you knew I was coming home"! He got a plate and cut a few pieces for himself and walked into the other room to start unpacking while enjoying a treat.

"My cake...", Marie said in a thoroughly disappointed voice. Edd's mother seemingly took notice of her for the first time.

"Marie, it's good to see you. Honey, what happened to your head"?

"I tripped over myself and bumped my head on the floor".

"Did you check her for bumps or bruises Eddward"?

"Of course mother. No bumps, but there looked to be slight bruising. Nothing to bad. But better safe than sorry". Edd's mother held out her hand to help Marie off of the floor.

"Oh Marie, you've grown into such a beautiful young woman. I can still remember you chasing Eddward around when you were younger. How time flies".

"Thank you. And you're looking rather fine yourself"! Edd's mother couldn't help but laugh. She was indeed considered very attractive by most. She had Edd when she was only 18 and just starting college, so she wasn't as old as any of the parents in the neighborhood. She was actually just about to celebrate her 35th birthday in the coming months.

While his mother looked over Marie's injury Edd went to check on his father. He was in the living room looking over the window. He looked impressed with the work Edd had done.

"So. How exactly did you break the window"? Edd still hadn't come up with a way to explain what had happened to the window to his parents. So he did his best to vier the conversation in any other direction.

"Does it seem stable enough to you? Rolf was kind enough to help me replace it, but windows aren't exactly a strong suit of mine. Hope it looks alright". His father looked at him, as if he was putting something together.

"There's a good rule of thumb for checking windows son. Here place your hand in the center. Like this". Edd followed his fathers instructions and placed his hand on the glass. His father proceeded to grab his arm and pull up his sleeve, revealing the bruised area of his arm that had been hit during the window smashing. "Thought I saw something on you when I walked in. Now, why don't you tell me what's been going on here Eddward". Did Edd tell his father? Was it as big of a deal as he was making it in his head? "Son, I know about the brick. Marie's mother was outside when we pulled in and introduced herself. She let me know about the whole incident. You're mother raced off before she could bring it up. I understand why you'd want to keep this from her. I know how she gets. But you can't hide this sort of thing from me. I don't know who did it or why. For all we know it was just some kids being stupid. But just in case it's something else we need to keep an eye out". Edd knew his father was right. Hopefully he was wrong about who threw it, but on the chance her was right... he would need to keep a look out for anything else that may happen.

Edd and his father walked back into the kitchen where Marie and Edd's mother were trading off laughs.

"Eddward, I never knew you've never had Ramen before! You're lucky Marie has such great taste. I'll be sure to pick you some up next time I'm at the store".

"How long are you two going to be home for this time"?

"For a while.", said his father, taking the seat at the table next to his wife. "We've taken some time off so we can, among other things, spend some time with our son".

"What is it that you two actually do?". Marie asked. "Everyone knows you guys travel a lot but no one seems to know what you do for a living". Edd's mother laughed.

"It's no big secret dear. We're", she stopped when her phone began to ring. "Oh, sorry, I have to take this. Hello? Yes, this is Rose". Marie looked to Edd's father for clarification. But before he could speak his phone also rang. "Hello. Yes this is Ronald". He mouthed the words "I have to take this" and went up to his study to take the call. Marie just sort of sat there. Clearly not believing what just happened.

"How's your head feeling"?

"Better. I like your mom. She's funny".

"Yeah. She's great. So, what would you like to do"?

"You're parents just came home. Don't you want me to leave so you can have some quality time with them"?

"Just because they're home doesn't mean they're not working. They'll be on their phones for a while, and then have to unpack. It'll be a little bit before I can sit down and talk with them. So we can still hang out for a while. If you'd like".

"Well I did say I'd make you some Ramen. Why don't we give your parents some space and go to my place for a little bit". Edd quickly agreed, he was pretty desperate for some more Ramen. When Edd and Marie went to leave they noticed it was beginning to rain, and hard. "I love the rain". Edd turned to grab an umbrella. When he turned back he saw Marie racing across her front yard. He wasn't going to have any part of that. He opened his umbrella and made his way to Marie, who was now soaked. They saw a flash of lightning hit the sky, followed shortly after by a huge boom of thunder. Marie's face lit up. "Thunderstorm!", she yelled. There were few things she enjoyed more then these. She ran into her house and up into her room. Edd, far behind her, made sure to leave his now muddy boots and soaked umbrella somewhere they wouldn't cause an inconvenience for Marie's mother.

"Hello Eddward". Diana was sitting in the dinning room with papers spread across the entire table.

"Hello Diana. I'm afraid I may have tracked some mud into your house. Terribly sorry".

"Don't sweat it. Just wish Marie was a thoughtful as you. She just threw her shoes off and ran her soaked ass upstairs. But she's not the one who was to clean it". Edd soon rejoined Marie in her bedroom. Which was still pretty messy and filled with unpacked boxes. One of which Marie was going through.

"What are you looking for?", he asked. She didn't answer right away. When she popped out of the box she was digging through she was holding some kind of recording equipment.

"I love thunderstorms. So whenever one is happening I like to record it. As weird as it sounds, it helps me to sleep sometimes". She placed the recording equipment all around her window, like she already knew the best setup for getting good sound.

"Why don't you put that up in the attic? It would sound a lot better up there". She looked at him like he was crazy.

"Um, Edd. We don't have an attic". Edd smiled.

"You didn't know about the Cubby-holes in your room? They lead right up to the attic. You really didn't notice the window in the front of your house"?

"Um..no". Edd went over to a part of her room with a bunch of boxes piled up. He pushed them aside and pressed on a portion of the wall, causing a small door to open.

"It's pretty dark and narrow. I should go first". Edd crouched in and lead Marie up into the attic. As soon as they exited the Cubby-hole the sound of the rain hitting the roof made Marie light up. It sounded so close! She was such a sucker for this kind of thing. "When I was little and my parents would have to go away for work Mr and Mrs Golden, the people who used to live here, would watch me and a bunch of the neighborhood kids. We found out about this and would always come up here to hide. Don't think they knew about it ether. Or just didn't care much for it. This room wouldn't be good for storing much of anything". There were cobwebs and dust everywhere. Even some small old boxes. Probably from the people who lived there before the Goldens. Marie was sitting right next to the window, enjoying every second of the storm. Edd wiped some dust away from the ground and sat beside her. "Do you like it?" he asked. Marie nodded her head.

"It's wonderful Double D. Thanks for showing me".

"Think nothing of it".

"The way the sound is echoing up here is amazing". She turned and looked at Edd. "So. Are we going to talk about what happened"?

"Talk about what happened?", Edd repeated.

"You know! After I fell. And you gave me the ice pack, and were playing with my hair". Edd sat silent. "When we were about to kiss!", Marie was right in his personal space.

"I have no recollection of the event in question". Marie stood in disbelieve. However it wasn't long before she started laughing, and grabbed Edd's face.

"I can't stand you sometimes". Edd couldn't help but smile.

"So...want to make me that Ramen now"?


	10. Chapter 10

** AN: Last short chapter. Should have just waited and put the last three all together for one big chapter instead of three small ones. Now with the Romance stuff out of the way for a minute I can start writing about Edd and his Parents. Hope that turns out okay. Thanks for reading!**

The two sat in the attic for some time. Neither not really saying a thing. Just enjoying the rain and the others company. The rain and wind outside was picking up quite a bit. It wasn't until Marie got hungry that they went back downstairs. As Marie had promised she made Ramen for the two of them. There was a note on the dinning room table from Marie's mother. Apparently she had to run out somewhere for work and would be back later.

"Jesus", Edd heard Marie say from the kitchen. He walked in to see her looking out the window. The rain was coming down so hard it was almost impossible to see anything. But there was very clearly a small tree almost getting ripped from the ground by the wind. "There was no storm warning or anything was there? How could they miss something like this"?

"The news said it was supposed to be in the high 80s all weekend. Peach Creek has always had odd weather though. Nothing to strange about the weatherman not being able to predict this". _**Beep Beep**_! Their Ramen was done. The pair wen up to Marie's bedroom to eat them.

The rain and wind outside continued to get worse. Marie went over to the glass door that lead out to her balcony to get a better look. Almost immediately as she looked out one of the chairs she had out there flew into the door, leaving a huge crack. The impact came so suddenly that Marie fell backwards and bashed her head on corner of her bed.

"Damn it!", she screamed. Edd saw the blood spread all over the bed where she hit her head. It was no secret that he wasn't comfortable around blood. However, seeing the sheer amount of it had him to worried not to do something. He lifted up Marie's head and tried to find the cut and how big and deep it looked. The cut went from the very top of her head to about midway down her neck. It was big, but it didn't seem to be seriously deep. Nothing that would require surgery, stitches, or anything of the sort. Which was a huge relief. The storm outside would prevent them from getting anywhere. She was loosing a lot of blood, he needed to get it cleaned and bandaged. And fast. He looked around at what was in her room. He grabbed a shirt out of a large pile.

"Marie, hold this hard against your head alright. I'll be right back". Edd ran downstairs to find something, anything that he could use to clean and bandage the cut. He found an ice pack in the freezer, and some peroxide in the bathroom. Having no other option he also grabbed a roll of toilet paper. It was all he had to bandage Marie's head with.

Marie was sitting against her bed. One hand holding the shirt against her cut and the other eating her bowl of Ramen.

"Alright Marie, I found some stuff and should be able to patch you up and," Edd stopped. "Are you eating my Ramen"?

"Losing a lot of blood her Double D". She was right. The shirt was soaked in it. He knelt down next to her and removed the shirt.

"This is going to sting. Lower your head please.", Edd poured the peroxide over her head. She kicked her feet up and down and the stinging. He blew on it to relieve some of the burning and patted her head down with a large wad of toilet paper and proceeded to bandage it as best he could. Toilet paper was probably the last thing he would want to use for this. Not having options was awful. After using about 80% of the roll, he stopped. "I did my best. Hope it stays".

"Hope it stays? Wrong choice of words Double D. Couldn't just say it'll hold and you'll be fine? Man, I'm lightheaded".

"Do you have any orange juice"?

"Orange, no. Apple, yes". Edd went to retrieve some apple juice for Marie. On his way back up the stairs the power shut off and he fell. He sighed. Luckily he had a small flashlight on his key chain and safely made it back to Marie's room. He gave her the drink. Marie felt a lot better after drinking it. Still very lightheaded though. The storm outside didn't look to be letting up anytime soon. Even if it did Edd wouldn't leave Marie by herself while she was in this condition. He helped her onto her bed so she could rest. She decided she was going to use Edd as her pillow. "Double D, don't you know when a girl does this you're supposed to put your arm around her"?

"Um. I'd rather. You should get some sleep." he managed to stutter out. While he was closer with Marie then he had ever been with a girl, she was still a girl. And he never did this sort of thing with one before. So obviously he got a bit nervous. But Marie wasn't going to except that. "Fine. I'll do it myself.", she said as she grabbed Edd's arm and wrapped it around herself. "See. Much better". He had to admit, it was pretty nice. "Oh! You should also play with my hair. Not the nasty bloody part, but the cute soft part in the front".

"Marie",

"I'm injured and you have to do what I say"! Scared, Edd obeyed the order and combed his hand through the part of Marie's hair he didn't bandage up. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, and shortly after, for Edd too.

The nap didn't last long and Edd was soon up making his way out of Marie's bed, trying his best not to wake her. He looked out the window and saw the storm had for the most part passed on. Some light rain but nothing major. He saw that Diana's car was in the driveway. She must have gotten home after the front of the storm hit. Which means she probably saw him and Marie in bed together...

He made his way downstairs to see Diana again working on something on the dinning room table. She saw him and smiled.

"Hey Eddward, bout time right"! Edd glew red at her remark and what it was that she was implying. He informed Diana what had happened with Marie falling and bashing her head and how he cleaned it and that long as she rests and keeps her head elevated she should be fine. She prompted to hug him afterwords, which made him rather uncomfortable. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter.", she said to him. She sounded very sincere. A depart from the usual sarcastic tone she shared with Marie.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: I was having some problems with my computer today and had to write this out in wordpad, which doesn't have spell check. So I'll apologize now for the errors that are bound to be swimming through this. I'll revise it tomorrow once my computer starts behaving. Thanks for reading!**

**Edit: Went back and corrected all of the little errors I saw. If I missed any please let me know.**

The storm had done some significant damage to the neighborhood. Smaller trees were sprinkled all across the roads, stop signs literally bent in half, and the cars. They took the worst blow of all. Across the street Edd could see Kevin sobbing on the hood of his car.

"Serenity, I'm so sorry baby. I didn't know!" he yelled. Edd saw that his parents had their car safely parked in the garage. On the short walk from Marie's house to his own, Edd stepped on countless Roof shingles that blew off from all the houses. His house seemed to have some damage. Nothing he and his father couldn't tackle in an afternoon. They were lucky. A lot of houses lost a lot more then a few shingles.

Unsurprisingly, when Edd entered his house both his parents were on their cell phones. His mother walked over to him and gave him a hug and a kiss. Her way of telling him, "I'm glad your safe". It was crazy to him how his parents could block out what was going on outside and continue their business calls. Suppose that's why they're the bosses.

Exhausted by the toll taking care of Marie had on him, Edd made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and sat at the kitchen table to eat it. As soon as he got the first bite down his father, finally off his phone, sat next to him.

"These calls are going to be the death of me." he said in a melodramatic tone similar to one Marie would use. He rubbed his face rather angrily for a moment before looking at Edd. "Sorry about all this Edd. These calls won't last much longer. Your mother and I are trying to get something set up and it's taking a lot of doing to get done". Edd pushed his plate, with half of his sandwich, at his father who clearly needed it more then he did. Doing all this work over the phone, and on jet lag. He had to be losing his mind. After inhaling the sandwich Edd's father continued. "Your mother and I hate all the travel. Changing time zones every day. Leaving somewhere on a Monday and arriving somewhere else the Sunday before (time zone difference makes them "time travel" so to speak). Well. That parts pretty cool. But we just want to stay in one place. Plant our roots. It's great we get to help people who really need it but it's just to much for us now".

"So what are you guys trying to do"?

"Like I said. Set roots". Edd's father stood up and went to grab his bag from the other room. He pulled out a large binder and handed it to Edd. Edd flipped through the first couple of pages. It was all detailed information on equipment, buildings, and all sorts of things Edd didn't really understand. "Your mother and I are trying to find a place to start our own business. Doing what we love, but not being thrown all around the world by somebody else. Instead. We'll be the ones throwing people around the world" he said with a chuckle. "It's taken a lot of work over a long period of time, but we're close". Edd looked at some of the tabs in the binder. London, New York, San Francisco, Peach Creek, London, Germany. There were quite a few place listed. Each of which had mind numbing amounts of information packed in. "Those are all the places we're looking to set up shop. Right now we've secured the area we going to start everything at and are finalizing a deal in the another area that would be the best place to expand to first".

"And where are they"?

"Here. And New York. Peach Creek is a huge area. A great building was available and we jumped on it. It'll be a great starting point for us".

"How is it that you are able to afford all of this"?

"Loans. Mostly. Our old boss Mr. Stan is helping us out considerably as well".

"Helping you? You're starting a company that will be dealing in the same line of work as his, in a lot of the same areas if your plans work out, why would he help you"?

"I know it's hard to believe son, but some people aren't in it for the money. Mr. Stan just wants to help people, the same as we do. We're going to be partners in this. Work together to get help to people who can't help themselves. Sharing resources, information, anything to make things run smoothly. The amount of Medical companies that could help but don't. It's sickening. Cheap affordable care is what people need. Alone your mother and I, even with the others that work for Mr. Stan, can't do it all. All the facial reconstructions I can give some kid or prosthetic arm your mother can give it's just not enough". Edd wasn't a cynical person by any means, but he had his doubts on this whole thing. He continued to look through the Peach Creek section and saw a long list of equipment they were getting. He noticed that based on the model numbers he saw earlier in the binder, the equipment his parents were getting for their first building were all outdated.

"Dad, why are you getting all outdated machines and equipment here"?

"Mr. Stan is selling his older stuff to us for practically nothing since he just upgraded most of his inventory. Remember son, the tool doesn't make the man. Whatever we get we can use to better the life of someone.

"Would you mind explaining why exactly you picked the places you did"? His father flipped to the very back of the binder.

"Each country or state we've looked at is chosen because the high rate of people in our profession. All types of Surgeons, Physicians, dentists, anyone in the medical field. There's a lot of people willing to help. We just have to go out and find them". Edd's mother excitedly ran into the room smiling.

"We got the area in New York!" she screamed enthusiastically. She and Edd's father danced excitedly around the kitchen for a moment before his phone rang again. While he took it in the other room Edd and his mother sat together at the table. "So, did your father explain everything to you Eddward"? He simply nodded. "It's going to take a lot of work to realize what were trying to do. But, at least we'll be with you for it right"? Edd let a smile out. He was excited about his parents being around more. But with all this work would they really even be able to spend time with him? "Eddward there is one thing you should know. Your father thought it would be best to hold off on telling you just in case things don't go the way we plan, but. We're starting everything here, but as you know we're scouting locations for more offices and each of them is going to require us around. The plan is for us to have this one up and running by July next year. After that we'll be heading to New York to make sure that goes well. We know it's a lot to ask, but we want you to come with us. I know it's asking a lot to leave your friends and life here and finishing your Senior year in a different state, but we want you to be able to do this with us before you go off to college. A last little family trip, so to speak. You've always said You wanted to get into the same line of work as us. So you can get a first hand look at how everything is run. And, when the time comes, take over. There's", she was interrupted by her phone once more. "We'll talk later hun. Think about it". She gave him a kiss on the head and left the room. Leaving Edd to contemplate what to do.

All of this was a lot to take in. On one hand he couldn't believe his parents would try something of this scale. On the other hand it doesn't surprise him in the least. They've always wanted nothing but to help people less fortunate then themselves. He knew they were capable of achieving their dream and making this all work. What he was concerned about was if he should go with them or not. True, he does want to get into the same line of work as his parents. Traveling around helping people and getting to see wonderful places in the process. It helps that Edd had never really wanted a family. Which would be the best rout to go if he truly ended up in this line of work. Could he manage a year away from his parents? It would be the last time he'd get to spend time with them before college. But could he leave behind his life here, and all the people he cared about? Ed, Rolf, Kevin, Nazz, Marie. Just drop them and everything else? Luckily he had almost a year to figure out his answer. For right now, he would try not to stress about it to much and just do what he could to help his parents out as best he could.

Being exhausted from everything that was thrown at him, Edd passed out shortly after his talk with his parents. They on the other hand got little to no sleep at all. Throughout the night Edd could hear his father pacing around in his study, the constant ringing, as well as their conversations on the phone. Luckily Edd was able to tune out noise when trying to sleep and it didn't bother him much.

Sunday morning came all to quick for Edd who awoke promptly at 7am. He glanced over to his desk where he saw his phone blinking. He missed a few calls from Marie. She must have tried getting a hold of him after she woke up. He was about to call her when the familiar smell of his mothers delicious pancakes hit his nose. Marie can wait, he thought as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Good morning Eddward. Hope you're hungry". His mother was admittedly a pretty terrible cook most of the time. Though her pancakes were the best he'd ever eaten. Joyously he sat at the table, which had three plates set out. He received a rather large stack of pancakes and prompted to add a touch of syrup to them. His father soon entered the kitchen after apparently ending a call with someone. He kissed his wife and sat beside Edd.

"Morning son. Did you manage to sleep last night? I know I was pretty loud on the phone all night. Sorry about that".

"No no." Edd quickly replied. "I slept just fine". His father dug into his own stack of pancakes, twice the size of Edd's, before continuing.

"Getting trucks to move equipment to our new building is a lot more frustrating then it should be. Charging us a fortune. But the move will start tomorrow. So, for now at least, it looks like we've got some time to ourselves".

"A welcome change." his mother added".

"Edd, did you get a chance to look over the greenhouse ideas I had before passing out last night"? Edd took a sip of his milk.

"I did. I think the windows you want to add are a good idea. I think we could honestly add more then the ones you wanted. I looked into some automatic feeders not long ago as well. So in the event of both of us being busy it would manage some of the work for us".

"Good thinking son. Did you have any ideas as to what you wanted to grow"?

"I had a few Ideas. I bought some seeds a while back. They should be arriving in the mail any day now. Some foreign fruits and vegetables that will add something unique to our garden".

"Good thinking." his father muttered out with a mouth full of pancakes.

"Swallow your food dear". This was great, Edd thought. His family having breakfast together. It seems like it's been so long since they've done it. Even over the summer when they were traveling together they rarely got to just sit down and have a meal. It was long overdue, and Edd was loving every second of it. After breakfast was done Edd's parents told him some stories of places they had been. His mother bought him some very old books, including one about Nian, a creature of Chinese mythology. A subject Edd loved. Something he and his mother shared. The rest of the morning was spent by Edd informing them on how he's been since returning home. His mother was a little to interested in his relationship with Marie, and he knew she would bug him about it mercilessly, even though there was nothing to tell.

Edd and his father proceeded to spend a good chunk of time in their basement workshop drawing out improvements to the greenhouse they wanted to buy. It was a 8x16 house and they wanted to think of some way of increasing the size without having to spend a lot. During his youth most of the time Edd spent with his father was down here. His father would show him how to take things apart. How they worked. How to use tools and build things. There was a huge work area with every kind of tool you'd ever need. It was his father's retreat. And eventually, it became Edd's. He built a glass cabinet to house all of his models and other things he's built over the years. Right next to a similar case his father made when he was young.

Time spent with his father flew by and quickly it was already time for lunch. Edd promised his dad he would make it so they wouldn't have to suffer his mothers cooking. He decided to make basil tomato pasta, which took about 20 minutes. His father told him to call when it was ready, he wanted to try and find something in one of his many, many old filing cabinets. As Edd did his thing in the kitchen he was joined by his mother who had just gotten back from a quick run to the grocery store.

"So Eddward. Tell me more about Marie".

"Mother, I spent a good portion of my childhood telling you about her".

"That was then. What's she like now? You say you've been spending a lot of time with her lately. There must be a reason right"?

"She's enjoyable company. Nothing more to it. Sorry to disappoint you".

"Come now Eddward, do you honestly think you can lie to your mother"?

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it". Edd had prepared himself for this the second he saw his mother enter their door. She liked to pry. And pry. Until people broke and spilled their guts to her. But Edd wasn't so easy to crack. Even if he did, what could he tell her? He and Marie were close friends. They had a weird moment on his kitchen floor. Nothing crazy.

"But weren't you going to kiss her before we walked in"?

"Oh look! Foods ready. DAD! FOODS DONE! Here's your plate mother". She looked on with a smug smile. She knew she was going to win.

Edd's father ran in holding a binder with the tag "Projects" on it.

"What's that hun?" his mother asked.

"It's a binder of all the projects Edd and I ever talked about doing. I wrote every one of the random crazy ideas we had down. We may be busy with our new business venture but we'll be together more often then not, so why not take a look though this and see if there's anything that catches our eye. Take a look". Edd handed his father his food and received the binder. It was surprisingly organized. His father was a messy person. He always claimed it was a sign of a creative mind. "See nay you like"? There were things he remembered talking about years and years ago. Practical things like a suit of armor, a tree house, and a miniature model of Peach Creek Also crazy things like a full size transformer made out of old car parts.

"There's a lot of ideas I'd like to tackle. But with your job and my school work what could we manage right now"?

"Guess we'll have to start small. We'll find something. Take some time to look through that. First project is something you pick. I get the next one". That sounded good to Edd. He figured he would have a good time in one of his study halls looking through it.

The day ended much as it began. Edd spending quality time with his parents. He knew it wouldn't be like this everyday so he made sure to get the most out of it. He showered, brushed his teeth, and laid his outfit for the next day out. He then went through his backpack making sure all of his homework was done, organized, and ready to hand in. He did notice his Calculus notes were not in his backpack though. Then he remembered he had them on his desk to study earlier this weekend. He grabbed them, in the process knocking his phone on the floor. He then remembered he never called Marie back. He saw several more calls missed from her and wanted to return them. But for whatever reason decided not to and just went to bed. He'd see her tomorrow anyways.

**AN: This was a fun chapter to write. Can't wait to explore Edd's relationship with his parents more. Also, there's a chance updates will be happening a lot slower now. I've had an idea for a story that I'm dying to start writing and if that goes well it may take priority over this. Nothing fanfiction related, just an idea I've always wanted to write out.**


	12. Chapter 12

After a fantastic night of sleep Edd found himself being awoken, but not by his alarm clock as usual. No, this time by his mother. A pleasant surprise to hear his mother's voice in place of the incessant ringing of his alarm. It was also nice to not have to rush into the shower so he had the time to make himself breakfast. With his mother providing it today he could take a minute and actually get to enjoy his hot morning shower. Edd normally gets up for school around Six and class started at quarter after Seven. Depending on if he walked or got a ride it would only take five to ten minutes to get there. Point being, he got to take a long refreshing shower and still get to sit down with both his parents before they all had to head out.

Unsurprisingly once Edd arrived downstairs his father was yelling at someone over the phone. He couldn't manage to understand what all the fuss was about, but honestly he was so into the glorious smell of pancakes that he couldn't pretend to care. He was handed a large plate and wasted no time in devouring everything on it. Once his father was off the phone he reminded Edd to find a project for them to start working on soon. Edd assured him that he would. Being the first day of the move to their building his parents had to rush out the door a bit sooner then Edd would have liked. Not two minutes after they left he heard a knock at the door. Edd opened the door half expecting it to be his mother remembering something she left here. However that was not the case as Kevin stood in his doorway. He smiled and greeted his friend, wondering what he was doing here.

"I'm going to start climbing again today after school. Want to come back with me"? It was no secret that Edd was never known for his amazing physical physique, but around the time he and Kevin started becoming better acquainted he invited Edd to go to a local indoor climbing place, Rock Venture. He described it as something anyone could do, and also a great way to stay in shape. He started out on beginner courses but eventually moved up to the more challenging ones Kevin used. The place had come under new management and went through some serious renovations that made them close down for around eight months. Edd had completely forgotten about it. It was always a fun time and he would love to go back. So he happily acquiesced. Kevin also offered Edd a ride to school. Which Edd was quick to take. As they entered Kevin's car and drove off Edd failed to see Marie walking out of her front door. Along with the look on her face.

School was at the point were now the real work would be starting. Edd's first period History class reminded the students of just that. Mr. West decided to assign the classes first essay. After the groaning and complaining from the kids stopped Mr. West explained the topic of the paper, international relations, and then dove right into the first lesson about it. The paper wouldn't be due for 2 or so weeks. By letting them know this far in advance he was hoping some of them might actually do it. Edd knew right away what he would base his paper on. How powerful countries inject themselves into smaller countries issues. Whether they want it or not.

After a very enjoyable history lesson Edd happily went to his English class, which was spent reading a book Edd already finished. So instead he began reading some random book he found in the classroom, "The Giver". When the bell rang Edd asked his teacher Mrs. Domm if he could keep the book to finish at home, which she delightedly agreed to. Edd made haste to his AP Physics class. Since he spent all his free time the first few days of school going ahead in their workbook Edd felt he was completely prepared for whatever the teacher had in store. As it turns out, he was a bit to prepared. Being an Ap course Edd naturally assumed things would move a quicker pace then his other classes. Unfortunately he was wrong, and the class dragged on going over things Edd had since mastered. Regretting his decision to work ahead he sat there for an hour and a half impatiently waiting for lunch to start.

Edd brought his and his father's project book to look through when he got some free time. Based on how thought out and detailed each project was he figured lunch would be a good time to start, so he went straight to the library from Physics. He was truly amazed. His father took every idea the two had ever talked about, weather serious or in jest, and made fully thought out designs and plans for nearly every one of them. A whole section of the binder was devoted to outfits from movies and TV shows the two thought looked cool. They were the simplest things in the binder. Granted, making an exact replica of an outfit would take time, but it was certainly a good choice for a first project for the two to start.

"Eddward". Edd looked up and saw Anna standing beside the table. He smiled at her. She didn't have lunch at this time. What was she doing here?

"Hello Anna", he replied. "What are you doing here"?

"It's study hall, you didn't sign in for it, so I did for you. I thought you'd be in here". Was lunch really over? Edd didn't realize how focused on the binder he had gotten.

"Oh, well thank you very much for that. Guess I lost track of time. Would you like to sit with me"?

"Thank you...but I have early release today, I'm starting a new job" (early release is when a student has study hall last period they can just leave if they want to). Edd wished her luck and continued on his projects until school was done. He thought he figured out the outfit to make and couldn't wait to talk to his father about it. But he wouldn't get the chance to until, much later. He met up with Kevin at his car and they made their way to Rock Venture.

Kevin and Edd arrived at Rock Venture quickly. It was only just down the street from their school, and Kevin sort of drives like a madman. The parking lot was surprisingly full as well. For whatever reason this sort of thing really seemed to attract an older crowd. Kevin and Edd were often the only ones their age when they used to come here. As soon as they entered the building the new renovations became abundantly clear. The ceiling was raised in certain areas, some crazy sloped walls were added, it just looked a lot crazier then before. Kevin was overjoyed by this. Edd on the other hand though. He was hoping to slowly get back into this and not go straight to the crazy challenging courses. Though it seems they were all crazy challenging now.

"I've missed this place. Didn't miss how expensive it was though".

"Looks like the prices all went up as well, Kevin". The two stood at the front desk waiting for someone to come assist them.

"Hello, sorry to keep you waiting, we're swamped today. How may I help you. Ugh. Eddward"? The girl behind the desk was no other then Anna. This was the job she told him about? What are the chances?

"Hello Anna. I had no idea this was the job you told me about today".

"Yeah", she said softly, seemingly embarrassed. "My uncle is the new manager here and he insisted I work for him".

"You don't like it here"?

"To many people. To crowded and loud". Edd couldn't disagree on any of those points. "Anyways, what would you like"? Kevin and Edd looked at each other, trying to decide between just getting a day pass or spend a lot more on a membership, which granted them access for so many weeks. "My uncle wants to try to get more people our age to come here, so I could give you guys a discount on memberships, if you'd like". Kevin's face lit up at those words. With all the money he puts into Serenity he can't go spending one-hundred dollars on a membership. He immediately agreed, and Edd soon after. "Here you guys go. Two month memberships. Enjoy".

"Thank you so much Anna".

"Alright Double D, enough talking, let's go. You can impress your lady friend by climbing the hardest course they have". Anna laughed at Kevin and Edd's interaction. To Edd's dismay, Kevin picked a rather difficult course to start. He was in very good physical condition, while Edd was a little rusty.

Edd discovered he somehow maintained a decent amount of ability over the long gap between doing this. He was having no problems keeping up with Kevin on the courses over the three hours they spent there. He had forgotten how much he loved doing things like this. Before they decided to leave Kevin needed to use the restrooms and cool off for a minute. So Edd decided to get some fresh air outside waiting by Kevin's car while he did what he had to inside. And, out of nowhere, he felt the intense stinging of a fist making contact with his face. Followed by another. Sending him to the ground. Though he was disorientated he could clearly see who it was. Eddy, and he was screaming something at him. His ears were ringing horribly, but he heard a bit of what was being screamed at him. "It's your fault", "You're going to pay", "Ruined my life". Edd felt an anger building in him. Nothing like he'd ever felt before. He wasn't sure what was happening, but it was like his instincts were completely taking over. He lunged at Eddy, completely surprising him and taking him to the ground. There, Edd proceed to pummel the hell out of his face.

"I'm tired of you blaming me, you ruined your own life!", he screamed. He heard the sound of Eddy's nose break when his fist hit him. Who knows what other damage he would have done if Kevin hadn't pulled him off.

"Double D chill! Anna called the cops, they'll be here any minute, people saw Eddy attack you, he's going away"! Edd slowly started regaining his composure. Looking at Eddy's twitching body lying on the ground, then at his own blood covered hands. He sat on the sidewalk, still trying to register what had just happened. It was self defense, but that doesn't excuse how far he had taken it. Edd was grateful Kevin was there to remove him from the situation. He had no intention of stopping and could have seriously hurt Eddy. Not that he didn't deserve it, but that didn't make it right. Edd saw the cop cars pulling into the parking lot. An officer went to talk to Anna and her uncle while another one cuffed Eddy and put him in their car. They wanted to ask Edd a bunch of questions and he was glade to answer them all. The only thing on his mind right now was how he was going to explain this whole situation to his parent. Surely they wouldn't be to happy with him.

**AN: The last chapter got a lot of nice comments on it and that made me want to write a lot more. Nice to finally have the Eddy situation being in the forefront. Hope you enjoyed.**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: So this just hit 10,000 views, which is awesome. So thanks to everyone who read it :)**

The police had Edd go down to the station with them to do some routine questions. They called his parents to inform them of the situation. They were both much to busy to make it down right away but made sure Edd was okay and everything was being taken care of. Coincidentally earlier that day the police got a tip about the people stealing car parts and busted a large group of teenagers involved in it. One of them ratted out other members not with them for a lesser sentence. One of which, was Eddy. So with both assault and theft charges he was going away for a while. Since he was 18 he would be charged as an adult. There was no way out of it for him.

Anna's uncle John went down to the police station with Edd. He felt that since all this happened on his property he was somehow responsible for Edd's well being. He apologized and threw a bunch of free stuff at him in hopes that he would keep coming to his facility. Edd assured him that he couldn't possibly blame him for what happened and would continue to give him his business. After all the questioning the police did was over John offered Edd a ride home, but he declined the offer. He wanted some time alone for a little while.

On the other side of town Marie was just leaving the library. Some books she ordered had finally come in and she was anxious to begin them. She wasn't in a very good mood as of late. She still had a bandage around the back of her head from the injury she sported the other day during the storm and people kept giving her weird looks. Well, people always gave her weird looks, but more so now, and it was infuriating to her. On top of that her art teacher was far past her last nerve and Marie had actually thought about dropping the class in place for some other elective. All of that plus her situation with Double D. She had tried calling him several times over the past few days but she hasn't been able to reach him since he left her house. He bailed on their morning walk to school, and she waited for him at lunch but he never showed up. It was like he was pushing her away and she didn't understand why. Yeah his parents where home now but that didn't mean he had to be all rude and ignore her. But whatever, she didn't want to think about all that right now. For now she just wanted to get back home and lose herself in her books. And maybe stop in this bakery and get some sweets first.

With her books and bag of sweet sugary goodness Marie retreated out to her balcony and laid out on the old couch she had put out there. Stuffing a large cookie in her mouth Marie grabbed her huge headphones and began looking for some music to blare and drown out any other noise. Rush, by Demotional was the first song she picked and began immersing herself in the world of her books.

Once Edd had left the police station he didn't go home. Ashamed and confused over what he did he just wondered around aimlessly for a long while. He had received several calls from Kevin, Nazz, and Rolf. He knew word of what happened would spread quickly. He dreaded what going to school tomorrow would be like. Surly he'd be hounded by the other students. Maybe take a sick day? No! Edd has never once missed a day of school. He wouldn't allow this to tarnish his perfect record. This is not at all how he envisioned everything would happen when he came back home. Moving far far away is looking to be a better option every passing second. It was almost six so his Parents should be getting home soon. Edd dreadfully shuffled his way back home, not wanting to hear what his parents would have to say.

Gleefully making her way through a bag of cookies while reading, Marie had completely removed herself from everything. That is, until she felt herself being violently shaken. During which, a piece of her cookie began falling to the floor. With much skill she managed to catch it just before it hit the ground.

"You're such a fat ass". A very irritated Marie now looked up to her mother. Why would she ruin Marie's blissful state like that?

"What do you want mother"?

"Snippy today aren't you? I overheard some kids talking outside. Apparently your man got into a fight with someone named Eddy". Marie's heart sank. A fight? Edd? No, surly her mother misheard and it was somebody else. "I wouldn't look so concerned", her mother said, interrupting all the terrible thoughts Marie was having. "From what I heard, Edd beat the kid out cold. You should check up on him when you're done stuffing your face. Her mother's attitude aside she knew she was right. She should check in and make sure he's alright shouldn't she? Although, Edd had been ignoring her. She had to at least try reaching out to him so she grabbed her phone and sent a text. Knowing Edd like she did she knew right now he probably wouldn't want to talk to anyone.

Taking his sweet time Edd made it back to his street to see his parents car in the driveway. Expecting the worst he made his way up to his door and entered. The house was unusually quiet. Normally he'd hear his parents on their phones. The upstairs lights were on and so where the kitchen ones. He looked in the kitchen first. Mostly because he was starving having eaten noticing since lunch where he had only a small snack. His father was sitting at the table eating a sandwich. He noticed Edd standing in the doorway and asked if he wanted some of his food. Edd shook his head, but the loud rumbling his stomach made disagreed with him, so he sat down and had some of his father's sandwich. Edd figured the second he walked through the door he would be bombarded. Everything seemed off and he had no idea what was going to happen.

"So did you get around to picking out a project for us to do"? Why would his father care about that right now? He did know what happened didn't he?

"Hello Eddward", his mother said in an unusually peppy tone. Edd wasn't sure how to react to all this.

"Hello mother, and yes, I did figure out something that we could work on. An outfit, or costume really. From a movie I saw recently. I'll collect images of it from every angel I can and do some research about it and get it to you as soon as I can". Edd's father became noticeable excited at the thought of finally getting a project started together. Edd picked up the last bit of his sandwich, and that's when his mother lost it.

"Oh god Ron I can't hold it in any more. Look at is knuckles!", she ran over to Edd and thoroughly examined his hands, face, neck, anything she could get her hands on. "My baby was in a fight. Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Are you okay? Oh my god, oh my god".

"Rose, calm down. Obviously he's fine. Sorry son. I thought I convinced your mother to not do this to you when you got home. Should have know she'd break".

"Well what did you expect? My boy was attacked"!

"Yes he was. And he defended himself and beat the kids as..."

"Ronald! Don't talk like that!", she interrupted. "I'm going to get my kit and clean you up". His mother sprinted up the stairs to find her first aid kit. She means well but goes a little overboard when it came to Edd getting hurt. Edd felt awful after seeing the terrified look in his mother's eyes. How could he do something like that to her?

"Edd, don't look like that. What you did, it was self defense. You were attacked and fought back. You didn't do anything wrong. Anybody in the same situation who says they would have done differently are lying. After the police called and told us what happened your mother freaked out. Obviously. She was ready to run down to the police station and get you. I convinced her you probably wanted some alone time. Eddy's mother called us crying trying to apologize for what happened. Apparently her and her husband are going through a divorce and Eddy didn't take it well. That and a bunch of other things piled on top of each other really messed with him. She wasn't trying to defend what he did, just venting I guess. Poor woman".

Edd's mother arrived and began frantically cleaning him off. Under all the blood on his knuckles there were some pretty bad cuts and bruises. This all mortified her. His father made him another sandwich before going off to make some calls. Being the first day of everything starting at their building they needed to have a close eye on everything that was happening. Edd was about ready to pass out out by the time his mother was done. He showered for a long while trying to get himself to relax a bit. His life was never this eventful before, and he wasn't liking it.

Making sure to get everything ready for school tomorrow Edd sent a text to Kevin asking, once again, for a ride in the morning. He saw dozens of texts and missed calls and decided he'd deal with them tomorrow. He really wanted to get some peace and quiet and try to relax before getting to bed. He grabbed his computer and did a quick search of the character who's costume he wanted to make with his father.

"Bucky Barnes". How much could there be to the character Edd thought to himself. "Oh. My". It seems he would be doing a bit of reading before bed.

When morning came and Edd was on his way to school with Kevin he prepared himself for what may happen. Kevin explained to him how word had spread around about the fight. Obviously people were going to be curious, but Edd had nothing to say about it all. He just wanted to get through the day and get back home and begin work on his costume.

Much to Edd's dismay people bugged him all day about what had happened. As he expected. He explained to everyone who asked that he merely defended himself and that was it. Some people wanted to know more and wouldn't stop pestering him. Luckily Kevin was around to back them off. To which Edd was very grateful. He did run into Ed during lunch and received a rib crushing bear hug from him. That actually cheered him up a bit. Ed didn't care about the details of everything and was just happy his friend was alright.

Marie, now leaving lunch was dreading going to her art class. It amazed her how a teacher could ruin something she loved so much. While on her way to her class she saw Edd standing at his locker. She wanted to go and talk to him. You know, make sure he was okay and all that. She would have, except Anna was standing next to him. Marie stopped walking and looked at them, and when she saw Anna give Edd a kiss on his cheek her stomach went in knots and she got really hot. '_Bump__'_

_ "_Watch where your going". Some kid, while texting on his phone, had bumped into Marie, and he was giving her an attitude about it. No. She was having none of that. She grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him into the lockers next to them.

"What you say"!

"Oh my god please don't hurt me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!", the boy pleaded. Marie released her grip and shoved him, sending him running down the hall. She then decided to just leave. She couldn't handle going to art right now and just decided to go home. She didn't care what the school or her mom were going to say, she just wasn't doing this right now.


	14. Chapter 14

** AN: I got a message or two about how the whole Eddy thing got played out to fast. Just thought I'd say that it's not over at all. There's still some things he needs to do. Just trying to figure out which path I want to go with him. But it's not resolved just yet. **

Marie hadn't ditched class in a long time, she was hoping her teacher wouldn't really notice her absence. Knowing she couldn't go home just yet, because her mother may have been there, she decided to go to the park right by the school. She could lay in the grass, go on the swings, just relax and cool off for a while.

"That skank kissed Double D. Pft, what should I care. He can do what he wants. He wants to ignore me. Fine. He wants to kiss little redhead skanks. Fine. Do it. I don't even care". Marie plopped herself on the lush green grass, directly in the sun and pulled out her phone. "Oh god! The new Batmobile looks sick"!

"New Batmobile"? Marie raised an eyebrow and looked past her phone to see who said that. "Can I see"? It was a little boy. Must have just gotten out of school. Not hiding her irritation from the child she slowly raised herself off the ground and showed the boy the pictures on the phone. He proceeded to freak out. As you'd expect a small boy to do when they see something as awesome as the Batmobile. His reaction in turn made Marie laugh. Something she desperately needed to do today. "Do you like the new Bat Suit"?

"I do. Looks much better then the one from the last bunch of movies". Marie couldn't believe she was sitting here having a conversation with this child.

"Did you see the armor he wears too?!", the boy screamed with excitement. "Looks just like the one he wears in the Dark Knight Returns". Marie was impressed this boy knew so much about Batman. She went on to quiz him and test his knowledge, and while they had some major differences in what they preferred, he definitely knew his stuff.

"Dean! What are you doing? Stop bugging the poor girl". A women who Marie could only assume was the boy's mother came running over. "I'm so sorry Ms. Hope he didn't bother you to much". Surprisingly this was the most she'd enjoyed a conversation in a long time. She was usually not very fond of children but this kid, Dean, was alright.

"He wasn't bothering me. It's no big deal".

"Come on Dean, your sisters are all ready, let's get home".

"Wait one second". He turned to Marie. "Nightwing or Red Hood"? Marie smiled and unzipped the small jacket she was wearing to reveal the Red Hood logo on her shirt. The boy did the same, but with the Nightwing symbol. She laughed again and waved to them as they walked away. It was almost two. School was about to let out so she could start making her way home.

She arrived home to an empty house. Her mother works ever changing hours so there's no telling when she had to go in, or when she was coming home. Marie faced a difficult decision now. Eat and then shower, or shower then eat. She felt dirty but was so hungry. Boil water for Ramen while taking a shower! Brilliant, she thought to herself. So a quick shower later Marie threw on some pajamas and ran down to start her food. She also checked her phone to see a missed call from Lee. After her sisters went out to live with their fathers Marie had a chance to sort of mature and grow up. She changed a lot. However it was Lee who had changed the most of all the sisters. For the better too. She was still a hot head at times but was a lot more mellowed out now. She took school very seriously and spent a lot of time volunteering to help clean her community parks and forests. She was all about saving the wildlife and all that. She made sure to call Marie at least once a week to check in on everything. As weird as it was the two of them became a lot closer after they stopped living together. However Marie was hungry and in a bad mood so she would just call her back later. For now she was going to lay in her bed, eat her food, and start watching season two of Arrow on Netflix.

"Yes father the cast is setting as we speak. I'll look into that as soon as I can. Okay, bye". Edd and his father were making progress with their project. This one required a full arm prosthetic. A cast of Edd's arm was to be sure they made it the proper size. And with that being done for the time being Edd could go locate the next thing he needed. He hopped on his computer to find the number of a few stores in town. While doing so he realized how soar his body had become. The climbing really took it's toll on him. Surly the encounter with Eddy didn't help ether.

After making a call to a few places Edd found what he was looking for and headed out to pick it up. It was at a thrift store. Edd loved going to them during his travels with his parents. You'd find the oddest things there. In this case he was looking for a mannequin to keep the costume he and his father were making on. He needed a full body one and most stores only had a head, or body. Really lucked out with this one. Edd had never been inside this store so he had no idea how huge it really was. He couldn't imagine the kinds of things he could find if he took the time to look. He made his way to the front counter to await assistance.

"Hey dude.", he heard from behind the counter. "You called about the mannequin right Double D"? Edd had no idea Nazz worked here. Was she the one he talked to over the phone? No, couldn't be, he would have noticed.

"Hello Nazz. Yes, I was the one who called about the mannequin". Nazz grabbed a rather large box and placed it on the counter.

"I hate these things. I always feel like the second I turn away from one it's going to come to life and attack me. I was so happy to put it in a box and get it out of here. Now if only I could get rid of the room full of them we still have".

"Well I'm sure I'll be needing more in the coming months.", Edd smiled to his friend.

"Sooner the better. Oh! You've been spending a lot of time with Marie lately haven't you? Do you know what happened to her today"? It was only now that Edd was realizing that he hadn't really spoken to Marie as of late. So he had no idea what Nazz was talking about. "I have English with her second period and she was there, but in fourth period Art she wasn't. On my way to class I thought I heard some kid crying about Marie hurting him. You don't know anything about it"?

"I'm afraid not. Hopefully it's nothing serious, and she just had some sort of appointment or something of that nature. Well, I must be going now. Thank you for the mannequin".

"No problem. I'll give you a discount on the rest if you buy them all"!

Edd couldn't help himself from thinking about Marie now. Was the last time he talked to her that night at her house? Being with her all day everyday had become such a normal thing it was hard for him to believe he had gone so long without seeing or talking to her. _Ring ring_. Edd stopped and answered his phone. It was Kevin, asking if Edd wanted to go climbing again. He did, but he was soar and wouldn't be able to for long. None the less he said yes and Kevin said he'd come pick him up.

Kevin immediately tackled the hard stuff while Edd just barely made it up the beginner course. His body just was not used to this kind of activity anymore. He foresaw an ice bath in his future. Taking a break, Edd found a table to catch his breath at. Looking around it seemed like there were a lot more people then last time.

"Hello Eddward". Edd heard the familiar voice of Anna greeting him. So he greeted her back and she sat at the table with him. She told him how the whole incident with him and Eddy had gotten a brief mention on the local news and they mentioned this place. Apparently a lot of people didn't know about it and a lot of them signed up. Her uncle decided to make a new course that would change every single day. It would be a little while before it was finished being set up though. He thought that would be a good way to keep the people coming.

Edd and Anna talked for what they thought was merely a few minutes, but when Kevin showed up at the table letting them know it had been over an hour they couldn't believe it. Edd decided it was time to get back and try to climb again, so he said goodbye to Anna and joined Kevin once more. What he didn't realize was that the whole time he was talking with Anna he started drawing a design for a new climbing course. It wasn't anything more then a doodle really, but it still looked great. Anna decided to take it, she doubted Edd would care.

Edd only climbed for another thirty minutes and had to stop. He didn't want to overdue it and kill his still frail body by pushing to hard. After coming off the wall Edd was approached by Anna's uncle John. He showed him the doodle he drew and talked about how Anna talked him up like he was some sort of genius. As another way to make amends for what happened he offered Edd a chance to design a real course to be built. And if the design was good and customers enjoyed it, he could do it again, and be paid for it. Designing something like this would be no trouble for him and the possibility of getting paid if he did a good enough job was very appealing to him. So he gladly accepted. Kevin insisted on giving advice on how to make it. Edd sort of tuned him out and thought of how he wanted to do it. He couldn't wait to get started.

"Yeah, so everything is just kind of messy right now Lee. I'd love to come down and visit you soon, but the first long break isn't until November for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure I'll last that long here. If you ever want to come up and rescue me, please, by all means".

"Marie, you home"?

"Moms home, I got to go. Talk to you later". Marie threw her phone and got off her bed to go see her mother. She gave her daughter a kiss and dumped a lot of papers, files, and binders on the dinning room table. She asked how Marie's day was. No matter how busy she was with work the first thing she did when she got home was always talk to her daughter. She asked how her day was, and Marie lied about it. Trying to convince her mother school was going great and she wasn't going out of her mind. Marie's mother knew Marie was clearly lying to her but didn't bring it up. Marie had no way to know, but the school called her mom about her missing last period. Her mother knew Marie wouldn't just walk out of school unprovoked and didn't want to just come home and yell at her and make her even more upset. She wanted to play it out slow and see what Marie did in the coming days before getting to serious about anything. She wasn't exactly a model student herself back when she was in school and Marie's grades were always great. If that stopped being the case there would be a problem. As for now, she would just let her daughter do what she needed to.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Quick chapter to get me back into the swing of things. Been writing a new Fic that's been eating up most of my writing time. Nice to switch back to Edd and Marie for a while though. Missed her :) **

**But you should all check out the other one. It's a new type of story for me and I could use all the help I can get to make it not suck! So if you have the time to read a quick chapter, please do! **

The rest of the school week slugged on for Marie, who's frustration with everything only continued to grow. While she hadn't again skipped class, she had almost convinced herself to drop art. It should be an easy decision right? The teacher is awful and aggravates her to no end, but her love of art makes it a little harder then just dropping it.

Needing a break and to just get away from everything, Marie decided this weekend she would camp in the Peach Creek Forest. It was only about a 10 minute drive from her house and being completely surrounded by miles upon miles of trees, streams, and wildlife for a few days sounded absolutely amazing right now. She planned to bring her camera and sketchpad, just immerse herself in all the beauty she'd be around. Away from everything, and everyone.

Being the end of September the weather in Peach Creek was begging to change. It was notorious for having brutal summers and harsh winters, with snow falling as early as early October. Luckily, right now it was still in the high 70s, so Marie could pack lite. Her mother drove her to the forest and pestered her the whole way about always having her phone on and with her. They used to go camping a lot when Marie and her sisters were kids so her mother knew she knew how to get around and not get lost, but like any mother would, she still had panic attacks about Marie being there all alone.

After saying goodbye to her mother, Marie made haste to the trail that would lead her to her favorite camping site. Early on her walk Marie ran into a Park Ranger. Funny enough, it was a man she knew fairly well as he had briefly dated her mother years and years ago. They chatted only for a brief moment and then he had to go look over a different area. The Forest was huge, so there were a good number of Rangers patrolling it at any given moment. The frequency of Marie's visits here made it so she knew most of them, at least on a first name basis.

'_Snap_'. Marie froze in her steps when she heard something behind her. As quietly as she could she turned around and saw a family of deer, not 30 feet away. She got out her camera and started taking pictures. She knew she was no photographer, but she always loved to have pictures of moments like these. After taking a few photos she quietly waited for the deer to move on. They were easily startled and she didn't want to spook them.

Time here flew for Marie, who had already found her campsite, pitched her tent, and started a small fire. It would be a while before it got dark and she wanted everything to be done so she could spend a few hours drawing the scenery. Nature was always her favorite thing to draw. Trees, rivers, mountains, loved it all. Doing this kind thing reminded her why she loved drawing so much. Finally, she felt at peace with everything. Blocking out all the annoyances from school, her teachers, the little brats she was forced to deal with every day.

"Ugh. Why can't I just live out here?", she said aloud.

"Because some creep might sneak up behind you"! Marie practically jumped into a tree when she heard somebody behind her. An older looking man, long gray hair with a park uniform on standing besides her fire. A smile took over Marie's face and she ran to give him a hug. The man's name was Leakee (lay-ah-key) and he was an old friend from back when she'd come camping out here with her family. He spent more time in the forest then anybody and new every twist and turn it took. He sat besides the fire with Marie and they started making S'mores while catching up.

He told Marie how he just recently returned to Peach Creek after years of traveling and exploring the world. He became apart of a rescue unit and helped locate lost hikers and travelers. Which is what he does here now. Luckily no one has gone missing here for more then a couple of hours and nothing serious has happened yet, so he gets to spend most of his time hiking and enjoying the fresh air. In turn, Marie described a short version of all the nonsense going on at school. She even touched on her odd relationship with Edd. Leakee was something of a wise old man and normally loved giving advice on situations such as these.

"Do what makes you happy Marie. You love art. If you dislike the teacher that much, just drop it. You don't owe anyone to stay in there. A classroom isn't the only place you can learn. You immersed yourself in nature and your art reflects your passion for it. As far as the boy troubles, I give the same advice. Do what makes you happy. Always remember...", Leakee's radio went off. Apparently there was some trapped animal nearby. He said goodbye and headed out. Marie, furious that he didn't finish what he was going to tell her, just continued eating and drawing until night finally came, when she passed out under the stars.

Marie never was able to sleep through the night, waking up every few hours usually. Out here though, she had no problems. A squirrel who happened by her camp ran up to her sleeping bag and started to feed on the crumbs left from her meal. Upon waking up she just stared at it, and it stared back. She was actually having a staring contest with a squirrel, and what's more, she lost. Which prompted her to scare the little thing off. Now wake, with leftover food in her stomach, she packed up her stuff and began hiking deeper into the forest.

She soon make her was to a clearing and sat down for a water break. It was there that she saw a lot of movement in the distance. She saw what looked like cars, a tent, and a lot of people. Despite her better judgment she went to take a look. As she thought, there were quite a few cars, a large tent with dozens of tables underneath it, and a large handful of people. Vans with the logo for Rock Venture were sitting in the middle of everything. She watched for a moment before seeing the "Red Head Skank" walk out of one of the cars. This pissed Marie off, but not as much as seeing Edd get out of the same car.

"Damn it".


End file.
